Every Christmas I make cinnamon bread using this recipe. It is the recipe handed down from my grandmother Hazel (Davenport) Wilson. I started making it when I was a teenager.

I’ve made a couple of minor changes that I will note in the recipe.

Makes one loaf (modification: I double the recipe and make 3 loaves)

Ingredients:

Dough

1 Cup scalded milk (really just have to heat to warm because milk is now pasteurized)
1/4 Cup melted butter
1/4 Cup sugar
1 Teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg

1 Tablespoon yeast
1/4 warm water

~ 3 1/2 Cups bread flour (hard or red wheat)

Milk to brush loaves

Sugar and Cinnamon mixture: 1/4 Cup sugar mixed with 1 1/2 Teaspoons cinnamon (modification: I add 3 teaspoons or more of cinnamon). I actually don’t measure this and am pretty heavy handed with the mix.

Directions:

Mix yeast in 1/4 cup warm water with 1 teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl (I hold my finger in the water to test if it is very warm but not too hot to hold my finger in it – google says 105 to 110 degrees but I’ve never measured).

In large bowl melt butter, warm milk then add 1/4 Cup sugar and salt and cool to lukewarm.  Beat egg and add to milk mixture. Add yeast to milk mixture once it has been activated by the warm water.

Add flour to the mixture a little at a time until too heavy to mix with spoon. Turn out and board add flour as needed, and knead about 5 minutes or more until dough no longer sticks to board. Place in large bowl covered with dishtowel and let rise until double ( about 1 hour).

Then punch down and turn out on board, cover with cloth and let rest 10 minutes (I don’t always do this but it makes it easier to roll out with rolling pin. The recipe says to roll out into a rectangle 7 1/2 x 19 inches – my grandmother used to actually measure. I like to roll it narrower and longer so I get more cinnamon swirls in the loaf.

Brush rolled out dough with whole milk and evenly sprinkle on cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll up and place loaf in well oiled (I use olive oil) bread pan. Brush top with additional melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mix. Let rise a second time until double.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25-45 minutes. Test with knife to assure its done.
* If you are making one recipe into one loaf it will likely take the full 45 minutes. If you double the recipe and then split it into 3 loaves they will need to bake for 25-30 minutes.

Wondering if it would be just as good with whole wheat flour? I tried it and did not like it.