Cinnamon Bread

What is the best part of the roll recipe I shared earlier in the week? The best part besides how pillowy each knotted roll is when you take your first bite?

The best part is that you can use the same recipe to make a delicious batch of cinnamon bread. Even better, you can use half of the recipe to bake dinner rolls and the other to make a breakfast treat with a layer of cinnamon and sugar swirled between soft, doughy bread.

Noelle and I grew up on cinnamon bread. Our father’s one duty when he went to the grocery store? To bring back a loaf of cinnamon bread for Noelle and I to toast.

Noelle liked to eat the crust first. She still does this. With her perfectly straight teeth (no braces, what a lucky girl) she nibbles around the bread like a bunny to a carrot. After enjoying the less desirable outside, she slowly picks away the inside, small piece after small piece. She savors her breakfast moment.

I, on the other hand, slather. I like my bread covered by thick peanut butter or a sweet strawberry jam. On special mornings, I might melt some butter and then sprinkle my already sweet cinnamon bread with that classic childhood combination–cinnamon and sugar.

But regardless of how you enjoy a morning piece of cinnamon bread, there is no doubt about the enjoyment. Cinnamon bread makes your house smell heavenly, and those golden loaves sit on the counter, tempting everyone who walks into your kitchen.

Not too sweet, not too decadent, cinnamon bread makes for an ideal breakfast or a morning snack. Even now, I wish I had another loaf. My cup of coffee could you use the balance of a slice of cinnamon bread.

So with the holidays approaching, make the batch of dough I shared on Tuesday. Divide it into two, make one batch of dinner rolls (you’ll get at least 12) and make one batch of cinnamon bread.

I love my mini-loaf pans, and I used three mini-loaf pans to make cinnamon bread. But one large loaf pan works just as well…and you won’t be tempted to give any of your cinnamon bread away.

Cinnamon Bread
1/2 recipe of Soft Knotted Rolls dough (prepared through step 3)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP cinnamon
3 TBSP melted butter

1. After removing dough from refrigerator after overnight rest, dust a counter surface with flour. Grease a standard loaf pan with spray oil or butter.

2. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, press dough into a 20 x 8 inch rectangle, with the short side facing you. Using a pastry brush, brush melted butter on dough, reserving 1 TBSP. Sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar mixture (reserving about 2-3 TBSP), leaving a 2 inch border along the top to seal.  Roll up from the edge nearest you and finish at the sugarless end. Pinch to seal. Place in the loaf pan seam side down. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to for rise 2 hours.

3. Adjust oven rack to middle position, and heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1 TBSP of butter and brush over top of dough. Sprinkle with remaining sugar, and bake until top is deep brown and internal temperature is 185 to 190 degrees, about 45 to 60 minutes. Turn bread out and cool on wire rack before slicing.