Soft Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Sourdough Bread Recipe

No breakfast table is complete without this Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Sourdough Bread recipe. Each slice of soft sourdough bread is dotted with plump raisins and holds a sweet cinnamon sugar swirl. Better yet, this easy sourdough recipe can be prepared and baked on the same day. 

Growing up, one of my favorite after-school snacks was a piece of toast, slathered with butter, and sprinkled heavily with cinnamon and sugar. Oh, the nostalgia! The sweetness from the sugar and saltiness from the butter, plus the warm cinnamon, satisfied my cravings every time.

Recently, I was making my weekly soft sourdough sandwich bread for sandwiches when it hit me.

“Can I make my regular sourdough bread into a cinnamon raisin swirl sourdough bread recipe? “

Just a few additional ingredients were needed to transform this recipe into a delicious breakfast bread, or anytime bread, truly. 

First I kneaded juicy raisins into the dough for pops of chewy, sweetness. Then, I sprinkled the top of the dough with cinnamon-sugar mixture, before tightly rolling it up and baking.

If you could have smelled my kitchen. The aromatic cinnamon was sweet in the air, begging me to eat the entire loaf. And with how delicious this sourdough raisin bread is, it wouldn’t be too challenging to do so. 

The bread is soft, with a delicate crust and a slight sourdough flavor.

But the true stars of the show are the sweet raisins and cinnamon swirl. Just like sourdough cinnamon rolls, the cinnamon sugar swirl melts into sweet and sticky goodness and the studded raisins offer an almost jammy texture to each bite.

This Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Sourdough Bread recipe is simply delicious and will be a frequently requested breakfast item.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe:

No Fancy Equipment Required: 

Put away your stand mixer and Dutch oven; all you need is a mixing bowl and something to mix the dough ingredients with. Sometimes simple recipes are the best. 

Health Benefits:

This long-fermented sourdough recipe gives you all the gut-healthy benefits of sourdough in a delicious bit of bread. It makes you feel better about eating four slices in a sitting.

Bare Minimum Kneading: 

Only 20 seconds of kneading is needed for this soft sourdough cinnamon raisin bread. Talk about easy!

Same-Day Bake:

Many sourdough recipes can be a multiple-day-long process, but that isn’t the case here! This delicious bread recipe can be prepared and baked on the same day. 

Ingredients

Active Sourdough Starter – Forget commercial yeast, your own sourdough starter will do all the work to give you that soft and chewy slice of sandwich bread.

Warm Water – Make sure that the water isn’t boiling. This can kill your sourdough starter, causing the dough not to rise and be dense.

Unsalted Butter, melted – Adding butter to this recipe makes this everyday bread so soft. You can substitute for a 1:1 ratio with olive oil if preferred.

Sugar – For some sweetness and color! While the bread bakes, the crust will turn golden brown due to the Maillard reaction.

Bread Flour – Bread flour has a higher gluten count, which helps this homemade sourdough bread keep its tall, round shape.

All-Purpose Flour – Incorporating some white flour keeps the bread nice and soft.

Salt – To enhance the overall flavor of the bread. My favorite brand is Redmond Salt. 

Raisins- Pre-soaking raisins before adding them to the bread dough will give each bite a plump, sweet raisin.

Cinnamon – Warm and aromatic, ground cinnamon steals the show. 

Supplies

Large Bowl

Kitchen Scale – Baking is about precision and this help tremendously.

Dutch Dough Whisk – Great for mixing bread dough and pancake batter!

Rolling Pin

Bench Knife

9″ inch Loaf Pan

Wire Rack

BAKER’S SCHEDULE:

BAKE THE SAME DAY:

9 am: Make the Dough

10 am: Knead the Dough

10 am: First Rise

7 pm: Shape

7 pm: Second Rise

9 pm: Bake

BAKE THE NEXT DAY:

9 pm: Make the Dough

10 pm: Knead the Dough

10 pm: First Rise

Following Morning:

7 am: Shape

7 am: Second Rise

9 am: Bake

How to Make this Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Sourdough Bread Recipe

MAKE THE DOUGH

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the bubbly and active starter, warm water, melted butter, and sugar.

Add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients and mix with a Danish dough whisk or by hand until all the dry bits of flour have been incorporated and a shaggy dough is formed.

Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel, a tied plastic bag, or plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes to an hour to allow the gluten to relax.

While the dough is resting, pour boiling water and raisins into a small bowl. Leave them to soak.

KNEAD THE DOUGH

After 30 minutes, drain and pat dry the raisins. 

Remove the dough cover and pour the raisins on top of the dough. 

Next, wet your fingers so the dough doesn’t stick to them.

Then, take a piece of the bread dough, pull it upwards, and fold it towards the center of the dough. Push the heel of your hand into the dough.

Turn the bowl clockwise a quarter turn and repeat the same motion. Continue to knead the dough with this motion for about 20 seconds. The dough should become more stiff and smooth looking. The raisins will be mixed throughout the smooth ball of dough.

Grease another bowl with butter and place the smooth dough ball into the bowl with the seam side down.

BULK FERMENTATION

Cover the bowl again and place in a warm place, like on top of the fridge or in a cabinet. Let the dough rise till doubled in size. The bulk rise will take anywhere from 8-10 hours.

SHAPE THE DOUGH

Once the dough has doubled, remove the bowl cover and punch the dough. Do so by placing your fist in the center of the dough and pushing it downwards. Punching the dough helps to release all the air bubbles. This creates a tighter crumb that you want for cinnamon raisin swirl bread.

Remove the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Stretch the bread dough into a large rectangle on your work surface, about 8inx12in. You want it to be long enough to get those beautiful swirls and wide enough to snuggly fit in the loaf pan.

With a pastry brush, brush water about 1 inch wide along the sides and 2 inches wide along the top and bottom of the rectangle. This will help seal the bread dough when shaped.

Sprinkle the center of the dough with the cinnamon-sugar mixture, avoiding the edges. 

From the short side, tightly roll the bread dough into a log, like you would a cinnamon roll. Curl the ends of the sourdough sandwich bread under itself and pinch the seams together.

SECOND RISE

Using a bench scraper, gently lift the sourdough bread dough and place it into a greased 9 x 5-inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan with the seam side down. 

Cover the dough for the final rise. This should only take 1-2 hours, or until the dough is 1″ above the rim of the pan.

BAKE

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees f.

Place the pan in the hot oven on the middle rack and bake for 50-55mins, or until golden brown on top. I like to place a baking sheet on the rack under the loaf pan, just in case any cinnamon-sugar mixture bubbles over. 

Remove the sourdough cinnamon raisin swirl bread from the oven and place the bread pan on a wire rack. Keep the loaf in the tin pan for an extra 5 minutes before removing it to cool.

While it is still warm, spread butter all over the top of the bread for a super soft and shiny crust.

Place on a cooling rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

How to Serve

This Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread Recipe is perfect when served warm and slightly toasted with a slab of butter. It’s the perfect way to take an ordinary breakfast or brunch and make it into an occasion!

Even when the bread gets a bit stale, I love transforming it into either delicious French Toast, French Toast Casserole, or bread pudding.

How to Store

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Sourdough Bread will stay fresh for 3-5 days when stored in a plastic bag.

My favorite way of storing this bread is actually by freezing it. Once the bread has cooled completely, I will slice it up and store the pieces in a gallon-sized ziplock bag. I place small pieces of parchment paper in between the slices so they don’t freeze together.

To refresh, pull out some slices and bring them to room temperature or pop them straight into the toaster. Super simple, but still super tasty!

FAQs:

Why does my cinnamon swirl sourdough bread separate?

It is important to add flour to the cinnamon and sugar mixture because sugar attracts moisture. While the bread bakes, the flour helps to soak up extra liquids, keeping the cinnamon swirl intact. If there is not enough flour or too much liquid, the swirl will separate.

Happy baking!

More Recipes Like This:

Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Beginner’s Recipe for Sourdough Bread

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Sourdough Bread

Cheddar and Chive Sourdough Irish Soda Bread