Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe with a Swirl
Last Updated on March 10, 2024 by TheFarmChicken
This is such a fun and delicious bread recipe and pretty too! When this bread is baking it fills your home with a sweet aromatic cinnamon smell that is so homey and delicious. It is so good. I love creating new recipes, especially sourdough recipes, to share. I hope that you will put them to good use in your home. Here is my latest recipe. A couple flat loaves and one gigantic loaf and I have found an excellent balance. A Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread recipe with a Swirl and plenty of warm cinnamon and sweet raisins. It is a slightly sweet and soft bread full of raisins and cinnamon. This bread is elevated with the sourdough flavor that just melds it all together!
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About this Cinnamon Raisin Bread
It took me a little bit to get this recipe just right. I wanted a soft texture but one that could hold up to the raisins. This is just it! Soft, speckled with raisins and a beautiful thin and crispy crust. It is delicious, toasted with butter and cinnamon sugar on it or just out of the oven, cooled, with butter on it. Let’s look at how to make Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe with a Swirl!
The Starter
Make sure you have an active sourdough starter for this recipe. I usually feed mine 6-8 hours before I am ready to start making the bread. My sourdough starter I like to have a thicker consistency than some people do. I feel like it has brought better flavor and success to my sourdough baked goods. Do you want to learn how to make your own starter? You can learn with Agnes and a FREE printable!
The Dough
I would say this dough for this Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe with a Swirl is a higher hydration dough than my potato bread recipe. It is slightly sticky but not so much that it is horrible to work with. The trick is to make sure to wet your hands slightly before you start working with the dough. I usually just keep a little bowl with water in it and it makes it convenient to just dip your hands in and rewet them if and when necessary. A little sugar to make it sweet and a soft dough make for a great vehicle for the cinnamon and raisins.
Coil Fold
I decided to perform coil folds on this dough to strengthen the gluten. Most of my recipes you will do an envelope fold but with this being a higher hydration dough I decided to use the coil fold method. It seems easier to do with stickier dough.
To perform a coil fold, get your hand/fingers slightly wet (this dough is a little sticky) then with both hands stick your hands under the dough in the center and lift it up stretching as you lift. Once it doesn’t stretch anymore fold under the top side and then turn 180 degrees. Then you repeat this on the other sides to do a complete coil fold on the dough on all four sides.
The Raisins
I find it helpful to soak the raisins before you include them into the dough. It is probably not necessary, but I think it gives them a better texture in the finished product. To soak the raisins, measure out the needed amount into a bowl and add warm/hot water to the bowl. Let sit for at least 15 minutes. Make sure to drain the water off before adding the plump raisins to the dough. This also helps if your raisins aren’t as fresh as they could be.
The Swirl
I don’t know about you, but cinnamon raisin bread is fun when it has a swirl. So, in this bread I added one. Sometimes it’s more noticeable than others. It kind of depends on how the dough gets shaped.
This cinnamon swirl is simply butter and cinnamon mixed together and spread on the dough during the last shaping.
The Sprinkle
Your bread is made and has proofed overnight. Now it is time to bake the loaves. I found this to be a pretty touch to the bread; it gives it a little sparkle. Flip the banneton/or bowl (Here’s a look at tools you can use if you are not ready to invest in all the sourdough tools at once.) onto a sheet of parchment paper, make any designs and a long cut in the top of the dough. Then, sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. It gives such a pretty sparkle to the bread!
How to make Cinnamon Sugar:
- Find an old clean spice jar or something similar.
- Put a teaspoon of cinnamon on the bottom.
- Fill the rest with granulated sugar, put the lid on tight and shake.
Ways to Bake this Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread:
You can use a Dutch oven for this bread. You can also bake this bread in loaf pans if you want it to be the shape of a loaf pan instead of a boule. Just shape your bread differently when you are at that point of the bread making process. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown and done in the center.
Sourdough Cinnamon Bread (No Raisins)
Another thing you can do if you don’t like raisins is to just omit them in the recipe and cut back the flour by 25 grams. Then you will have sourdough cinnamon bread.
Ways to Eat Cinnamon Raisin Bread:
- Slightly warm from the oven.
- Slightly warm from the oven with butter.
- Toasted with butter and cinnamon sugar.
- This bread is a great snack, dessert or it makes for a delicious breakfast bread.
- As French Toast
The Baking Schedule
The day before you bake the bread:
9-10 am feed your starter
3-4 pm or when your starter has doubled mix up the dough
The next day – baking day:
9 am Preheat Oven and Dutch Oven to 475 degrees.
9:30 am Score and bake first loaf
Make sure between loaves to preheat the oven back to 475 degrees with the Dutch oven inside the oven.
10:30 am-ish Score and bake second loaf
The Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Recipe with a swirl
Dough Ingredients:
- 300 grams active sourdough starter
- 825 grams bread flour – you can use all purpose flour too
- 500 grams water, distilled
- 40 g granulated sugar
- 7 grams kosher salt
- 200 g raisins, soaked in warm water for at least 15 minutes
- 6 T butter, softened
- 2 large egg
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Swirl Ingredients:
- 4 T butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions:
- In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer add the active starter, sugar, and room temperature water and mix until the starter is dissolved. Then add the flour and with the dough hook mix 1 minute until it comes together slightly and is a shaggy dough. Let autolyze for 30 minutes.
- For the next step add to the mixer bowl the raisins(drained), butter, eggs, cinnamon and salt. Mix on low for 3 minutes. Let autolyze another 15 minutes.
- Then knead either in the mixer or by hand for 8 more minutes until the dough is coming together nicely.
- Transfer to a lightly greased bowl. Coil fold (all 4 sides) the dough every 30 minutes for a total of 4 times. To make the dough easier to handle make sure your hands are slightly wet. If your hands need it, wet your hands a couple times throughout the process of working with the dough. Cover with a tea towel between each fold.
- After the last fold let sit 30 minutes and then transfer the dough to the counter and divide the dough into two pieces. At this point you will shape the dough. Take one piece and stretch it gently into a rectangle (do not rip the dough). Then fold over the one side to the middle half. Do this on the next side and then roll it up and create some tension on the dough by pulling/rolling the dough with cupped hands. Let the dough rest 15 minutes covered with a tea towel and then repeat doing the final shape.
- When you are doing the final shape before you roll it up, as described above, add the swirl to the dough and then seal it up and place in a banneton seam side up or a loaf pan seam side down. Place each banneton/ loaf pan in a plastic bag and transfer to the fridge. Leave it in the fridge to do an overnight cold proof / bulk fermentation, for roughly 6-10 hours.
The Next Morning – Bake Day:
- The following morning preheat your oven to 475 degrees with the Dutch oven in the oven, for 30 minutes before you plan to bake your bread. Then when you are ready, take your dough out of the fridge flip it over onto a piece of parchment paper.
- Smooth out the top, add any designs you would like and a deep score for the bread to be able to expand. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired and then put it in the Dutch oven. Transfer back into the oven and reduce the heat to 450 and bake for 25 minutes with the cover on and 15 minutes with the cover off or until golden brown.
- Remove from the Dutch oven and preheat the oven with the Dutch oven inside to 475 degrees again for the second loaf.
- Cool on cooling rack and enjoy when mostly cooled but still a little warm. If you try to cut the loaf of bread too soon the texture will be wrong. Enjoy on its own, with butter or toasted with butter and cinnamon sugar.
Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe with a Swirl
Ingredients
Dough Ingredients:
- 300 grams active sourdough starter
- 825 grams bread flour – you can use all purpose flour too
- 500 grams water distilled
- 40 grams granulated sugar
- 7 grams salt kosher
- 200 grams raisins soaked in warm water for at least 15 minutes
- 6 T butter softened
- 2 large egg
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Swirl Ingredients
- 4 T butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer add the active starter, sugar, and room temperature water and mix until the starter is dissolved. Then add the flour and with the dough hook mix 1 minute until it comes together slightly and is a shaggy dough. Let autolyze for 30 minutes.
- For the next step add to the mixer bowl the raisins(drained), butter, eggs, cinnamon and salt. Mix on low for 3 minutes. Let autolyze another 15 minutes.
- Then knead either in the mixer or by hand for 8 more minutes until the dough is coming together nicely.
- Transfer to a lightly greased bowl. Coil fold (all 4 sides) the dough every 30 minutes for a total of 4 times. To make the dough easier to handle make sure your hands are slightly wet. If your hands need it, wet your hands a couple times throughout the process of working with the dough. Cover with a tea towel between each fold.
- After the last fold let sit 30 minutes and then transfer the dough to the counter and divide the dough into two pieces. At this point you will shape the dough. Take one piece and stretch it gently into a rectangle(do not rip the dough). Then fold over the one side to the middle half. Do this on the next side and then roll it up and create some tension on the dough by pulling or rolling the dough.
- Let the dough rest 15 minutes covered with a tea towel and then do the final shape.
- When you are doing the final shape before you roll it up, as described above, add the swirl to the dough and then seal it up and place in a banneton seam side up or a loaf pan seam side down.
- Place each banneton/ loaf pan in a plastic bag and transfer to the fridge. Once in the fridge it will do an overnight cold proof / bulk fermentation, for roughly 6-10 hours.
The Next Morning – Bake Day:
- The following morning preheat your oven to 475 degrees with the Dutch oven in the oven, for 30 minutes before you plan to bake your bread. Then when you are ready, take your dough out of the fridge flip it over onto a piece of parchment paper. Smooth out the top, add any designs you would like and a deep score for the bread to be able to expand. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired and then put it in the Dutch oven.
- Transfer back into the oven and reduce the heat to 450 and bake for 25 minutes with the cover on and 15 minutes with the cover off or until golden brown.
- Remove from the Dutch oven and preheat the oven with the Dutch oven inside to 475 degrees again for the second loaf.
- Cool on cooling rack and enjoy when mostly cooled but still a little warm. If you try to cut the loaf of bread too soon the texture will be wrong. Enjoy on its own, with butter or toasted with butter and cinnamon sugar.
Notes
I hope you enjoy this Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe with a Swirl!
Mariah N. | TheFarmChicken
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You can learn how to make your own sourdough starter here:
More recipes to check out:
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
- Sourdough Kuchen Recipe: A German Cake
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls with Sweet Cream Icing
And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. 1 Samuel 30:12
Looks absolutely delicious, thank you for sharing! 🙂
This looks so good! Cinnamon and raisins are some of my favorites, and thanks for including all the important info! I’m a sourdough novice so I appreciate that! I’ll definitely have to try this out!
I haven’t tried raisins in my sourdough yet, but it looks so good, I pinned it to try later.
Looks delicious! I am definitely going to have to try this. I’ve only made regular sourdough bread so far.
HI!
I have a question, if I may please: With sourdough, is it really necessary to do coil folds, laminating or stretch and folds after the long mix in the kitchen machine and getting a strong windowpane?
Thank you for your kind reply! 🌷
Hi Judy! Thanks for the question. I would say yes. You want a strong gluten development which gives you a good texture and oven spring. As you do the coil folds you can watch the transition of the gluten strength.
That being said I haven’t ever made it without doing more folds and laminating so I can’t say it wouldn’t work though I do recommend it.