Cinnamon braid bread is Christmastime to me. For as long as I can remember, making it and eating it has been a part of the holiday season. The aroma it fills the house with while it bakes, the scent from toasting it and finally, the flavor bring about the best and most happy memories. My mom used to make numerous loaves to give to our family friends. I liked to watch her knead the dough as she sat on the floor with the bread bowl pinched between her knees. She would let me try but, at that age, I was not as fluid as her. I did like helping with rolling the dough in cinnamon-sugar and once I got the hang of braiding the dough, that became my most favorite part.
As an adult now, I enjoy the chemistry part of combining all the ingredients, especially softening and initiating the yeast, but my favorite part continues to be braiding the dough. And eating it. Since Friday last week and through the weekend, I’ve made 12 loaves and my family of four have managed to put away almost three loaves ourselves. The outer crust gets a golden toast in the oven and the bottom of the loaf is covered in delicious caramel (it’s cooked in the bottom of the pan). The braiding gives the inner dough a swirl, the lines of cinnamon and sugar sweeping through. Like my mom did when I was young, I love making it to share with friends and family.
This is a simple recipe. No complicated ingredients and the steps are very straight forward. Because we are not machines and because ingredients differ each time, there is a bit of watch-and-see that needs to happen in regards to flour addition. Some batches need the whole amount, some need more and some need less. If you are monitoring the dough, its tack (or lack there of), the chances are better you will create a good dough. Here are some other things to think about.
Tips for making great cinnamon braid bread:
1. Treat the yeast nice. It’s essential.
2. Add just enough flour to make the dough satiny, no more. Over flouring will create a harder, dryer loaf.
3. I’ve been using my kitchen scale when dividing the dough up. It’s not necessary, eyeballing it works just fine, but it does help create very balanced braids.
4. Cover the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil while the loaves bake. Sometimes some of the butter-sugar mix that bakes on the bottom of the loaf pan bubbles out. It will save you from having to scrub your oven or from choking on the smoke it creates when you use your oven again.
5. Do not over bake. It will give you a big frowny face.
6. Cover the tops of the loaves with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes to keep the tops from getting too dark.
7. Immediately remove the loaves from their pans when they are done baking. The caramel bottom has major sticking power. Once removed from the pan, lay the loaf top side down on a cooling rack. Cover the bottom of the loaf with a section of wax paper and then set the loaf right side up to cool completely.
8. Soak the pan right after removing the loaves. Makes clean up easier.
9. Store the loaves in plastic bags. You can freeze the loaves as well.
Now for the important information.
Tips on eating the cinnamon braid bread:
1. The caramelly bottom is the best part. Protect it with your life.
2. The two ends are the second best part.
3. We like it best toasted and topped with butter. Put the slices in the toaster top-side down to keep your toaster from eating the caramel bottom. The heat warms the caramel just enough and it’s wonderful. However, if the slice is bottom-side down, the caramel will stick to the toaster shelf and probably cause a burning smell.
Ingredients
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup very warm water
- 1 cup milk (skim - whole milk works)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 5 cups flour, divided
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup butter melted, divided
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- milk for brushing
Instructions
- Soften the yeast in the very warm water and set aside.
- Scald the milk in a microwave safe bowl.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar, oil and salt.
- Add hot milk to the bowl, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Allow mixture to cool to lukewarm.
- Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the flour and beat well.
- Beat in the softened yeast and eggs.
- Stir in enough additional flour to make a soft dough.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and satiny.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl, turning to grease the surface of the ball.
- Cover with a damp towel or greased plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled - about 1 1/2 hours.
- Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Shape each half into a ball, cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare two - 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" inch loaf pans. To each pan, add: 2 Tbsp melted butter, 1 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp water in the bottom. Stir to combine.
- Divide each ball into 3 equal parts.
- Roll each part into strips, about 18 inches long.
- Roll each strip in the cinnamon-sugar mix.
- Braid the three strips together. Tuck the ends under and fit into pans.
- Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.
- Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Cover the loaves with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes to prevent over-browning on the top.
- Immediately upon removing the loaves from the oven, use a knife around the inside edge of the pan and then remove the loaf from the pan. Place top down on a cooling rack. If some caramel remains at the bottom, scrap it up with a knife and add it to the bottom of the loaf.
- Cover the bottom of the loaf with wax paper before turning it right side up to continue to cool.
- Store in a plastic bag.
Notes
-I double the recipe every time I make it so I get 4 loaves per batch. If you have the pans, it's worth adding the extra ingredients.
This looks and sounds soooo amazing. I’ve still never made a yeast bread, but me thinks this needs to happen.
This is both beautiful and delicious!