Tuesday Tutorial - Cinnamon Bread

Every year, I make cinnamon bread as gifts for friends and co-workers.  I think they like it.  I think it's really good ...

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 package yeast
1/4 c. sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 c. butter (softened)
2 eggs

filling:
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 t. cinnamon

I usually double the recipe and make three loaves of bread at a time.  The recipe was adapted from a Fannie Farmer cookbook.

First, you dissolve the yeast in a bowl with warm milk and wait for it to activate - about 5 minutes (this is activated yeast).

Then you add eggs, sugar, salt, and softened butter and mix.

then you add the flour, about a cup at a time

 and continue to mix until dough is no longer sticky and shapes into a ball, like this.

Cover with a damp towel and let rise 40 minutes in a warm spot.  I usually turn my oven on, and as soon as it starts to heat up I turn it off and put the bowl in the oven.  (My mother used to put her bread in her furnace room to rise.)  After 40 minutes of rising, the dough should be doubled in size.  Punch down dough, divide, knead each section separately.

Roll out each portion with a rolling pin until approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  Spread with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll dough up like a jelly roll and put in buttered bread pan.  Do with each section.  Cover with a damp towel and let rise until doubled. (These have already doubled and are ready for the oven.)

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

And then you have cinnamon bread to share!