This beautiful bread is an attention-getter. It’s like cinnamon rolls in a loaf. You’ll find this a great snacking bread that will attract kids and neighbors but try to save several slices for your morning toast.You can make this with a mix or use the recipe below.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread From a Mix

You can make this bread from your favorite bread mix but this is what we recommend:

Sally Lunn bread makes a delightful, tender white loaf that is particularly suited for cinnamon rolls. It’s just a little sweet and has an airy crumb.

The Original Raised Donut mix will make a particularly light and airy loaf. It’s a raised, glazed donut mix but we use the mix for some of our sweet roll mixes. It’s sweeter than a sandwich loaf, raises higher but takes a little more time to rise.

Cinnamon buns made with a Donut Cinnamon Bun Mix

Ingredients

For the filling:

1/4 cup good quality cinnamon
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons butter 1 cup raisins
3/4 cupswalnut pieces, optional

For the frosting:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoonmeringue powderor one egg white
1/2 teaspoon lemon, vanilla, or almond extract
milk

1. Mix the dough according to package instructions with either your bread machine on the dough setting or with your dough hook with your stand-type mixer.
2. Place the dough in a large greased bowl and turn once to oil all sides. Cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until doubled, about one hour. Turn the dough onto a lightly greased work area. Deflate the dough by gently folding and pressing most of the air from the dough.
3. Divide the dough in two with a knife. Roll or press each half into an 8 x 14-inch rectangle.
4. Mix the cinnamon and the sugar together. Cut the four tablespoons butter into small chunks and spread the butter pieces on the rolled dough pieces. Spread the cinnamon and sugar mix on the two dough rectangles to within 1/2 inch of the edges and then sprinkle with raisins and optional nuts on the two dough pieces. (See picture.)
5. Roll the dough like a jellyroll into an eight-inch wide roll. Roll the dough as tightly as you can gently stretching the surface of the dough. (See picture) Place seam side down in a loaf pan and repeat with the second loaf. Gently form the dough in the pans to create uniform loaves.
6. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until doubled, about one hour. Rise times will vary with conditions, especially temperature–yeast is very sensitive to temperature.
7. While the bread is still rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the bread has risen, place the loaves on the center rack of the oven leaving as much room for the air to circulate around the loaves as possible. Bake for 35 minutes or until the bread is done and well-browned. If you have a probe-type thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 200 to 210 degrees. If the bread is browning too rapidly, loosely cover with aluminum foil for the last five minutes or so. Immediately remove the loaves from the pans and cool them on a wire rack.
8. Frost the bread while still warm but not hot. In a medium bowl, mix the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and extract. Add 2 tablespoons milk. Stir to mix, adding more milk as necessary but not more than one teaspoon at a time. The frosting should be so thick that it will not quite drop from the spoon. When you frost the bread, the heat of the warm bread will soften the frosting further and allow it to flow slightly. The frosting will set as the bread cools. Slice the bread after it has completely cooled.

Frosted Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups water at 105 to 110 degrees
5 cups good quality bread flour
1 7-gram packet instant yeast
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup dry milk powder, preferably high heat treated dry milk 1/4 cup good quality cinnamon
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons butter 1 cup raisins
3/4 cups walnut pieces, optional

For the frosting:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon meringue powder or one egg white
1/2 teaspoon lemon, vanilla, or almond extract
milk

Directions

Prepare two 9 x 5-inch pans by greasing the inside of the pans, including the rims.

1. Carefully measure 2 cups of lukewarm water. Use a kitchen thermometer to determine the water temperature. The water should be slightly warmer than body temperature when you immerse your finger in it.
   
2. Combine approximately 1/3 of the flour, the water, and the yeast by beating with a dough hook for 30 seconds or until combined. Add the remainder of the flour, the melted butter, the 3 tablespoons sugar, salt, and dry milk and continue mixing for at least five minutes at medium speed. The dough should be soft (but not too sticky to handle), smooth, and elastic. Water absorption may vary depending on environmental conditions. If you feel that the dough is too moist, add a little more flour.
   
3. Place the dough in a large greased bowl and turn once to oil all sides. Cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until doubled, about one hour. Turn the dough onto a lightly greased work area. Deflate the dough by gently folding and pressing most of the air from the dough.
   
4. Divide the dough in two with a knife. Roll or press each half into an 8 x 14-inch rectangle.
   
5. Mix the cinnamon and the sugar together. Cut the four tablespoons butter into small chunks and spread the butter pieces on the rolled dough pieces. Spread the cinnamon and sugar mix on the two dough rectangles to within 1/2 inch of the edges and then sprinkle with raisins and optional nuts on the two dough pieces.
   
6. Roll the dough like a jellyroll into an eight-inch wide roll. Roll the dough as tightly as you can gently stretching the surface of the dough. Place seam side down in a loaf pan and repeat with the second loaf. Gently form the dough in the pans to create uniform loaves.
   
7. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until doubled, about one hour. Rise times will vary with conditions, especially temperature–yeast is very sensitive to temperature.
   
8. While the bread is still rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the bread has risen, place the loaves on the center rack of the oven leaving as much room for the air to circulate around the loaves as possible. Bake for 35 minutes or until the bread is done and well-browned. If you have a probe-type thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 200 to 210 degrees. If the bread is browning too rapidly, loosely cover with aluminum foil for the last five minutes or so. Immediately remove the loaves from the pans and cool them on a wire rack.
   
9. Frost the bread while still warm but not hot. In a medium bowl, mix the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and extract. Add 2 tablespoons milk. Stir to mix, adding more milk as necessary but not more than one teaspoon at a time. The frosting should be so thick that it will not quite drop from the spoon. When you frost the bread, the heat of the warm bread will soften the frosting further and allow it to flow slightly. The frosting will set as the bread cools. Slice the bread after it has completely cooled.