I have been in the mood for something with cinnamon lately. Coffee cake comes to mind, but that is sweeter than I want right now. Snickerdoodles would be good, but still too sweet. A cinnamon muffin might do it, but that would need too much butter melting into it and it is best fresh from the oven. Baklava would be way too much work. Even cinnamon rolls sound like too much trouble right now. Just when I think I am going to have to settle for cinnamon toast it hits me: Cinnamon Bread. One recipe would make plenty to last a while, and I could use my KitchenAid mixer to do most of the work! To the kitchen I go!

This recipe makes two loaves, so I can freeze one loaf for another day. And as I say, I am using my stand mixer to do the work, but this bread is just as good if made by hand. I like a stronger cinnamon flavor than this recipe provides, so I add more cinnamon. Use the listed amount on your first try, but no more than about 4 teaspoons if you want it more flavorful, like I do.

Ingredients

Instructions

Place the raisins in a bowl with ½ cup of the warm water and stir well. Microwave on high for thirty seconds, stir again and set aside to soak. Put 3 cups of the flour in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the dry milk powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and yeast. Mix well and make an indentation in the center. Add the eggs and butter. Stir the eggs to break them up. Pour in the 1 ½ cups water. Mix well, add 1 cup flour, and mix again. Drain the water from the raisins into the dough and continue to mix and knead, adding the rest of the flour to form a dough that is moderately firm. Once all the ingredients are well blended, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes to rest. After the rest period, knead the dough until smooth and elastic. This will take about 5 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl, then turn over to grease the top of the dough. Again cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in bulk. Punch down the dough and gently knead in the raisins. Divide dough into two pieces and shape each into a loaf. Place into greased bread pans. Let rise again till the top of the dough is as high as the rim of the pan. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake until the crust is brown, about 40 to 50 minutes. To make sure the bread is done, take a loaf out of the oven. Slide the loaf out of the pan and tap the underside. If it sounds hollow it's done. Remove from the pans and place on a wire rack to cool.