Creating delicious fresh milled sourdough cinnamon raisin swirl bread at home can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be! This bread is a favorite and whenever I make it it is gone too quick!
- Why You Will Love Fresh Milled Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
- Ingredients and Substitutions for Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
- Mixing the Dough Together
- How to Stretch and Fold
- Sample Baking Schedule for Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
- How To Store Leftovers
- Delicious Fresh Milled Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
- What are your Favorite ways to Eat Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread?
- Other Articles You May Enjoy
- Pin For Later
Why You Will Love Fresh Milled Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
You will love having this bread in your home because it is a great alternative to the store bought cinnamon swirl bread. I know that it is a healthier option for my family, because it is fermented with sourdough and I control the amount of sugar too.
Sourdough cinnamon raisin swirl bread freezes well and if you slice before freezing is a great fast breakfast option! We like to pop it in the toaster or oven and then butter it. Anything that makes breakfast less stressful is great in my book!
This bread recipe has a strong cinnamon flavor in the bread and in the swirl so you will love it if you love cinnamon! If you want to reduce the amount of cinnamon or nutmeg in the recipe you absolutely can leave them out.
Sourdough cinnamon raisin swirl bread makes delicious French toast! If you notice your bread is going a little stale, just whip up French toast. You may not even need maple syrup on top.
Ingredients and Substitutions for Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
Dry Ingredients
Fresh Milled Flour – I use a Komo Mill to grind the wheat berries into flour. I love half hard red and half spelt for this loaf, but have been experimenting with khorasan instead of spelt lately too. You could use hard white instead of hard red if you want to have a loaf that tastes more like a store bought loaf.
Sugar – I use organic cane sugar in this recipe. You could substitute sucanat, date sugar, or coconut sugar as a one to one replacement.
If you want to use honey or maple syrup, I would replace 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 cup of honey added to the dough. You will probably need to adjust the flour or water to make sure the dough is the right texture.
Salt – Any salt you have will work, but remember that some whole salts like Redmond’s Real Salt and Celtic Salt can leave a gritty texture in your bread because of the extra minerals they have.
Cinnamon – I use cassia cinnamon, but ceylon cinnamon would work fine too. If you want to leave out or add more cinnamon you are welcome to!
Nutmeg – I love adding nutmeg to recipes that ask for cinnamon. I think the flavors go well together. Feel free to leave the nutmeg out if you like.
Wet Ingredients
Molasses – I use this molasses to make the brown sugar for the filling. If you are using store bought brown sugar leave it out.
Water – If you want to replace the water with milk, whey or an alternative milk, that will work well!
Sourdough Starter – I prefer a sourdough starter with a dough like consistency. If you have a runny sourdough starter you may need more flour to balance it out.
Oil – I use olive oil, but any oil you prefer will work. If you choose to use coconut oil or butter, melt it first. As your loaf cools, know that the coconut oil and butter will set up again in the bread and it will make the bread stiffer. Serving your bread warm will solve that problem though.
Vanilla Extract – I make my own vanilla extract. Store bought will work fine as well.
Raisins – I am not a fan of the brown raisin that are common, so I use golden raisins in this recipe. If you are not a fan of raisins than I recommend trying golden raisins. They are sweeter and delicious!
Mixing the Dough Together
When you mix the dough together there are a few ingredients to keep separate.
Salt and Sourdough – I add the salt right away into the dry ingredients instead of adding it later, because I have had a tough time mixing it in evenly. When you add the salt into the flour mix it in with the flour so that the sourdough starter does not contact a large amount of salt.
Oil and Flour – Add the oil as one of the final wet ingredients into your dough. If the oil gets soaked up by the flour first then you will find pockets of oily flour after you have mixed the dough.
How to Stretch and Fold
If stretch and folds is a new term for you, I want to assure you that stretch and folds are easy and can change your baking life!
Stretch and folds are a great alternative to kneading bread dough. I preform about 3-6 sets of stretch and folds for each dough I make. By the end of the stretch and folds, my dough is holding together, feels smooth, and breaks only after stretching pretty thin.
To do a stretch and fold means to take a side of the dough and stretch it as high as your bread will allow. Then fold that piece over the rest of the ball of dough. This is easiest if your hand is wet.
Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and do another stretch up as high as the bread will allow. Then fold that piece over the ball of dough and rotate another 90 degrees.
Stretch and fold side 3 and side 4, then place the dough fold side down so that it looks nice.
This whole series of movements is only ONE set of stretch and folds. By the end of one set of stretch and folds your bread doesn’t really want to stretch anymore and the gluten needs time to relax.
After waiting at least 15-30 minutes do another set of stretch and folds. I do about 3-6 sets of stretch and folds for each bread I create.
How do I know I am Done with Stretch and Folds?
You will know that you are done with the stretch and folds when your dough feels like it is smooth, which means that it doesn’t break apart until it is stretched far or thin.
The dough will stick to you a little bit, but almost all of it will stay with the ball of dough. Your hands should get easier and easier to clean as you finish your sets of stretch and folds.
The more sets of stretch and folds you complete, the more gluten you are developing and that will help your dough rise and bake beautifully!
Sample Baking Schedule for Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
Baking schedules can be challenging to create, but here is a sample one you can use if you want to bake this loaf for breakfast.
How To Store Leftovers
If you have left overs, store them in an air tight container with the slices standing upright. If you lay them flat you may loose the insides to the container.
The air tight container will help your bread stay fresh longer. After 2 days out on the counter, then I would store the loaf in the fridge to help it last longer.
You can also slice the bread and freeze the slices for future rushed mornings. Pop the frozen slice in a toaster and it will be ready to eat in minutes!
Delicious Fresh Milled Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
Equipment
- 1 Large Bowl
- 2 Small Bowls
- 3 Spoons
- 1 Scale that Measures in Grams
- 1 9×5 in Loaf Pan
- 1 Set of Measuring Spoons
- 1 Set of Measuring Cups
Ingredients
Cinnamon Dough
- 500 Grams Fresh Milled Flour I recommend 250g Hard Red and 250g Spelt
- 60 Grams Sugar
- 10 Grams Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon optional
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg optional
- 280 -300 Grams Water
- 30 Grams Oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 180 Grams Sourdough Starter Preferably Active
Vanilla Soaked Raisins
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ Cup Raisins I recommend Golden Raisins
Cinnamon Swirl Filling
- ⅓ Cup Brown Sugar light or dark
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon Flour
Instructions
Mixing the Dough Instructions
- Mix the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg dough ingredients together in a bowl. Then make a well or hole in the middle of the flour that the wet ingredients will be poured into.
- Add the water to the well in your flour first; then add the oil, vanilla, and starter. This prevents the oil from mixing with the dough first, creating oily flour clumps.
- Mix until combined and no dry pockets of flour remain. Let sit for 15 minutes.
Stretch and Fold Instructions
- You can choose to knead your dough for 5-10 minutes right now. I prefer to preform sets of stretch and folds with a wet hand.
- Stretch and folds are where you take a piece of the dough in our hand and stretch it up and then fold it over the top of the dough. Turn the dough 90 degrees and then stretch the dough up and fold it over the top again. Turn 90 degrees again and stretch and fold again. Do it once more to the final side of the bowl.
- Let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes. Then preform another set of stretch and folds with a wet hand.
- Let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes. Then preform another set of stretch and folds with a damp hand. You may do another set of stretch and folds if you feel like your bread dough is still not ready. You are looking for the dough to be smooth like it wants to stick to itself more than it sticks to you.
- Once you are happy with how the dough looks and feels cover the bowl with a damp towel, shower cap, or plastic wrap.
Bulk Ferment
- Set your dough into a warm space for 5-7 hours.
- Check the bread after 5 hours in the warm environment. Has it grown in size? If you shake the bowl gently does it wiggle at all? Yes to both means on to getting the insides ready!If the answer is no to either, then let the dough sit for another 30 minutes to an hour and check again.
Getting the Insides Ready
- While your dough is fermenting in that warm spot lets get the insides ready!
- Mix the vanilla extract and the raisins together in a small bowl. Cover and set aside.
- In another separate small bowl; mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together. Cover and set aside.
Shaping
- Before you start shaping, butter a 9×5 loaf pan.
- Once your bread has bulk fermented turn it upside down onto your work space. I don't flour it, but you can if you feel you need to.
- Press and stretch your dough into a rectangle shape that is about 8 in wide and 12 inches long or 20.5 cm by 30.5 cm.
- Once your dough is rectangular then you can sprinkle your brown sugar mix all over it, while leaving the edges bare for sealing. Try to make it as even as you can.
- Then sprinkle the raisins on top.
- Take 1-2 inches of the short edge and fold it on top of the rest of the rectangle. Then use that larger edge to pull gently away from the bread and roll the next section up. Continue pulling and rolling until it is log. If your dough is sticking to your work surface use a bench scraper to help you lift it without stretching it too far.
- Tuck the short ends under the loaf so the ends add tension to the top of the loaf.
- Place the loaf into a buttered 9×5 in pan. Let it rise about 2-3 hours. Test if it is ready to bake by gently shaking the pan to see if the loaf jiggles too. That means there is air in it!
- Bake at 350℉ for 45-60 minutes. It is done when you stick a thermometer in the middle of the loaf and it measures 195-205℉.
- Let cool for about 15 minutes then take out of the pan onto a wire rack. Cool, slice, and enjoy!
Notes
What are your Favorite ways to Eat Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread?
Let me know in the comments below how you and your family enjoy cinnamon raisin swirl bread!
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