Cinnamon Crunch Braided Bread
I have been craving all things cinnamon lately. I just made some old fashioned sugar cookies & I sprinkled cinnamon on top which I never do. After those cookies were eaten up I was still craving something with cinnamon so I decided to make some Cinnamon Crunch Braided Bread. Now I’ve made Cinnamon Bread many times but never in braided form or with the extra cinnamon crunch topping. I may never go back to regular cinnamon bread again! This was delicious!
Some photos of the process:
You divide the dough into 3 pieces & roll each piece out into a rope.
You brush them on all sides with melted butter then sprinkle/roll in cinnamon/sugar mix.
Then you take the 3 pieces & braid them together. Then take the cinnamon/sugar mix & butter to make a paste & pat that on top. Now your ready to let it rise again then bake!
This recipe was inspired by Panera Bread’s much loved Cinnamon Crunch Bagels. Now my bread doesn’t have cinnamon chips inside but it is swirled with cinnamon & it does have the sweet, crunchy cinnamon & sugar on top.
PS. If your looking for a bread machine to help knead the dough I always use my Sunbeam bread maker. It’s such a time saver for kneading dough plus it helps the dough rise faster because it heats the dough up.
- -Bread-
- ½ cup warm water
- 1⅛ teaspoon yeast
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup melted butter (1/2 stick) I used salted
- -Coating for Rolling-
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoon melted butter
- Use your favorite bread making method (bread machine, stand mixer w/ dough hook, or by hand). If making by hand: Add yeast, water, then the rest of the dough ingredients to a large bowl & begin stirring with a wooden spoon. Once a dough ball has formed move the dough to a well floured surface.
- Knead dough for 10 minutes until it is smooth & elastic like.
- Move back to the bowl & cover with a clean cloth.
- Let rise 1 hour or until double in size
- Prepare the coating by mixing the sugar, brown sugar, & cinnamon together in small bowl, set aside.
- After 1 hour rise, divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Take each piece, roll into a 15" log. Brush the pieces with 2 Tablespoons melted butter. Take the cinnamon/sugar mixture and sprinkle over the logs, roll each piece in mixture to coat evenly.
- Take the 3 pieces, pinch the top, braid the logs together, pinch the end when done.
- Carefully place on greased cookie sheet. Scoop up the unused cinnamon/sugar place in bowl with remaining melted butter, mix, then gently pat the mixture on to top of loaf. (If you don't have enough butter or cinnamon/sugar mix you can make some more with 1 tablespoon butter, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoon brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon).
- Let rise 1 hour or until loaf is double in size.
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- Bake at 350 F. degrees for 23-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Let cool, then slice & enjoy.
This post contains amazon affiliate links.
So pretty!! With a big ol slatha of buttah I would die for this bread!! Gorgeous :)
Do you activate the yeast w water first, or just mix all dough ingredients together, then knead?
You can activate the yeast first if you prefer. I don’t wait for the yeast to activate but I do start my adding the yeast and water first followed by the flour. Thank you.
Holy cow!! I would eat this ENTIRE loaf!!!
This looks so delicious!! What a perfect braid :) I have a weakness for Panera’s Cinnamon Crunch Bagels so I’m sure I’ll love this bread!
Thanks Megan! :)
this recipe looks awesome! Thinking of making this at the weekend ready for the week ahead! :)
Thanks Puja! I have made this bread 3 times lately, its my new favorite!
Hi what kind of yeast do you use. Thanks
Hi Rebecca, You can use either kind. I always buy instant (or rapid-rise) because it works faster then active dry yeast. If using active it will just take a little longer to rise.
I have made this three times already! It was amazing! The whole family loved it
I’m so glad you liked it! It’s one of my favorite recipes. Thanks for commenting!
Should the butter for the dough part be melted?
Hi Amy, I use softened butter, you could microwave it for a few seconds but it doesn’t need to be completely melted.
Absolutely love this bread won a first place for a youth fair. Can’t keep it longer than A-day as it gets eaten so quickly!. Question can you make this the night before up to the braided point and cook the next day?
Hi Karen! Wow, Congrats on the fair win! I’m glad you liked the recipe, it’s a favorite of mine! Thanks for commenting, we appreciate it.
Thanks for sharing I have made this bread 2times lately, its my new favorite!
I’m so glad you like the recipe, it is one of my favorites. Thanks for taking the time to comment, we really appreciate it!
How would I make it if I wanted to use 5 lbs of flour? Basically, what ingredients should I increase and/or decrease? Looks DELISH!
Hi, I would double the recipe and make a double batch. Thanks.
I have a question. Is the 1\4 cup butter part of the dough? Then you use additional butter for the cinnamon mixture?
Hi Kat. The recipe is divided into 2 parts, one for the dough and one for the coating. The 1/4 cup butter is for the dough. The 2 Tablespoons under “coating for rolling” is for the topping. Thanks!
Is it possible to do one or both of the rises the night before? I’m not a big ‘morning person’ and would love to have it ready to pop in the oven when we wake up.
Hi Seethat, I have never made it the night before but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work like with cinnamon rolls. You would let the dough rise once, shape it then put it in the frig, wrap with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out. The next morning remove about an hour prior to baking so they can rise again.
HI, i added a question the other day about whether the yeast needs to activate before adding to mixture, or just mix in yeast, water, etc and combine then knead? Haven’t seen a response, and would love to try this! thx in advance
Hi Dana, I responded 11/17 to the question, the reply is below, not sure why you can’t see it on your end. I hope you get this reply. Yes, you can activate the yeast first if you prefer. I don’t wait for the yeast to activate but I do start my adding the yeast and water first followed by the flour. Thank you.
thanks!! i’ll try that ;-) Don’t know why i couldn’t see your reply but thanks for following up! Happy Friday!
I’m glad you got the reply today! :) Good luck with the recipe, hope you like it!
Hi! For the bread part do we melt the butter or is it softened.( Room temp)
Hi Katie, I usually use semi melted butter because I usually take my butter straight out of the frig and then need to microwave it for 20-30 seconds. Thanks!
Can you substitute the egg?
Hi Mariana, I don’t know of any good egg substitutes for bread recipes. I haven’t tried making this bread without the egg but I do believe you could make it without the egg if needed. It may effect the structure of the bread some but it should still turn out, you would just want to add extra water to replace the liquid.
This looks amazing. I make challah bread a couple of times a month. My question is 1. Can this bread sit out on the counter for a few days, and 2. can it be frozen. I have some egg yolks that I need to use and was going to make challah with them. I would love to make this and freeze one loaf.
Hi Katherine, When I make this bread I usually put it in the fridge and keep it in there for a few days until it is gone. It can sit on the counter though, I keep it in a ziploc bag. It can be frozen as well. Thanks!
Thank you Katie, can’t wait to get started on this yummy looking bread. I will be making it with challah. ?
Have you ever added cinnamon chips to the bread? I have some and it sounds really good! I want to make this with my grandson. I know he loves cinnamon.
Hi Vicki, I have not tried adding cinnamon chips to this recipe but they can be used for baking bread. I believe you mix them in at the very end of the kneading process. If you add them, let us know how it turns out. Sounds like a great idea.
Hi Katie,
We made the bread with the cinnamon chips. It was really good! We added them when we rolled the logs. I think I used too many. I used a cup. Maybe 1/2 would be better. The loaf turned out a bit flat. I am fairly inexperienced with bread making so it may also have been the kneading or proofing. It double both times and seemed right but like I said just a bit flat. It was delicious though! Everyone gobbled it right up. Thanks for the recipe!
Great! I’m glad the cinnamon chip addition worked out for you with the bread recipe. I will have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing.
Hi and Merry Christmas!!
I am wanting to try and make this for Christmas, is it ok to freeze it for a week or 2 in an air tight ziplock bag or not so much?
Merry Christmas Hazel! Yes, bread freezes well for up to 3 months. I hope you like the recipe. Thanks.
Thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly!