Cinnamon Braided Bread with the BEST Frosting
Weekend mornings are perfect for making a delicious breakfast spread. This heavenly cinnamon braided bread is delightful for a slow Saturday or Sunday morning. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Let's braid some bread. We’ll get started by making our cinnamon braided bread dough and filling. The BEST frosting for this bread is quick and easy to make while the dough rises.
Photo: Alan Matthews Photography
You will need the following ingredients to make the dough:
4 cups of all purpose flour, divided
plus, extra flour for your surface
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tbsp salt
3/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup of water
6 tbsp butter
1 large egg
Measure your all purpose flour by gently spooning it into a measuring cup then scrape the excess off the top with a knife. If you have a food scale at home you can weigh your flour. 4 cups of flour is equal to 480 grams of flour. Weighing flour with a food scale is an excellent way (no pun intended) to measure ingredients for baking.
To make the dough, combine 1.5 cups of flour, granulated sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl, set aside. Reserve your remaining 2.5 cups of flour for later. If you don’t have dry yeast at home, substitute 1 1/8 tsp of baking powder and 1 1/8 tsp of lemon juice in place of the dry yeast. There are several substitutions for yeast, which is currently the “toilet paper shortage” of the baking world.
Heat the milk, water, and butter in a saucepan on low heat until it is warm but not bubbling or simmering. The butter does not have to melt completely.
Add the warm liquid mixture to the flour mixture and add your egg. Mix for 2 minutes. Continue mixing while slowly adding your remaining 2.5 cups of flour to form a soft dough that pulls away from the edges of your bowl.
On a lightly floured surface, knead your dough until it's smooth and elastic (about 6-7 minutes). Cover the dough with a bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes. While the dough is resting, make your filling.
For the filling, combine 1/2 cup of granulated sugar with 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon and stir until well combined. I like to keep this cinnamon+sugar combo prepared in an airtight container at all times at my house because it's convenient to make cinnamon toast or top fruit with. If you have extra after we get through filling our dough, KEEP IT!! Make sure your 5 tablespoons of butter are soft and spreadable. Now, let's roll some dough so we can fill it!
On a lightly floured surface, roll your dough into a 10x15 in rectangle. Use a spoon or spatula to spread your softened butter almost to the edges of the dough, leaving a 1/2 in border around the edges. Take your cinnamon+sugar mix and spread it over the softened butter. Starting with the long side of the dough, carefully roll the dough into a log.
FINALLY time to braid. Making dough from scratch is certainly a labor of love. Using a sharp knife, cut the log directly down the center to form two pieces equal in size. Gently fold one piece over the other until a braid forms.
Once the dough is braided, carefully form the dough into a wreath shape, tucking and pinching the ends together to seal the wreath. With your hands or a large spatula, transfer the dough into a 10 in cast iron skillet or cake pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Cover the bread (I use a flour sack towel like this) and allow it to rise until it almost doubles in size in a warm, draft free location, this takes 45 minutes to an hour. That location happens to be on top of my oven while it's preheating. You can allow the dough to rise overnight in your refrigerator. Just make sure to cover your dough in plastic wrap. I would not advise refrigerating a cast iron, so if you plan to bake this bread in a cast iron, transfer it into the cast iron after it has risen in another vessel in your fridge overnight.
The perfect time to make the BEST cinnamon roll frosting is while your oven is preheating and your dough is rising.
Combine 2 cups of confectioners sugar, 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract, 2 tbsp of corn syrup, and 3.5 tbsp of heavy whipping cream until a smooth frosting forms. If the frosting is too thick, heavy whipping cream 1/4 tsp at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Now that your dough has almost doubled in size, bake your cinnamon braided bread for 25-30 minutes or until it turns a golden brown color. Remove your bread from the oven, and allow it to cool for 20 minutes before frosting.
Photo: Alan Matthews Photography
Whew, THAT was a process, BUT so worth it. I definitely have the time right now to bake breads from scratch.
If you are in a crunch for time, there are some semi-homeade options available to make braided cinnamon bread. Make your dough using a Pillsbury hot roll mix or use a Pillsbury pre-made classic pizza crust found in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores.
Happy bread braiding and baking! I hope your morning is made a little sweeter with this recipe!
-XOXO-
Sally
P.S. See the condensed recipes below!
Photo: Alan Matthews Photography
BRAIDED CINNAMON BREAD RECIPE
4 cups of all purpose flour, divided
plus, extra flour for your surface
1/3 Cup of granulated sugar
1/2 tbsp salt
1 envelope of Rapid Rise Yeast
3/4 cups of milk
1/4 cup water
6 T butter
1 large egg
Filling:
1/2 C granulated sugar
2 TBSP ground cinnamon
5 tbsp butter softened
Measure your flour by gently spooning it into a measuring cup scraping off the excess with a knife. If you have a food scale at home you can weigh your flour, which is an excellent way to measure flour for baking. 4 cups of flour is equivalent to 480 grams of flour.
To make the dough: combine 1.5 cups of flour, granulated sugar, salt, and yeast in a bowl, set aside. Reserve your remaining 2.5 cups of flour for later.
Heat the milk, water, and butter in a small saucepan until it is warm but not bubbling. The butter does not have to be completely melted.
Add the warm liquid mixture to the flour mixture and add your egg.
Mix for two minutes then gradually add in the remaining flour mixture to form a soft dough that will be pulling away from the edges of your bowl.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic (about 6-7 minutes), cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.
To make the filling, combine 1/2 cup of granulated sugar with 2 TBSP of ground cinnamon, set aside.
Lightly spray a 10 in cast iron with cooking spray.
On your lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 10x15 in rectangle
Spread the softened butter almost to the edge of the rectangle, leaving a 1/2 border around all sides. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the part of the dough covered in butter.
Starting with the long side of the dough, carefully roll the dough into a log.
To braid the bread, start at one end of the log and carefully cut the log directly down the middle with a sharp knife. Gently fold one piece of dough over the other. Repeat this process until a braid forms. Once the dough is braided, carefully form dough into a wreath shape, pinching the ends of the dough together to seal. With your hands or a large spatula, transfer the dough into your cast iron skillet.
Cover the skillet and place the bread in a warm, draft free area and allow the dough to rise until it has almost doubled in size. I place mine on top of my oven to let it rise while the oven is preheating. This takes about 45-60 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Now that your dough has almost doubled in size, bake your bread for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the bread from the oven, and allow to cool for 20 minutes before frosting.
THE BEST FROSTING RECIPE
2 cups of Confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp corn syrup
3.5 tbsp of heavy whipping cream (or milk), plus extra if needed
*1/8 tsp of almond extract
Combine the confectioners sugar, corn syrup, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and almond extract to make a THICK, smooth cinnamon roll frosting. If you prefer a thinner consistency, add heavy whipping cream 1/4 tsp at a time until desired consistency is reached.