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cinnamon swirl bread

Tzangzhong-Inspired Forever Soft Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: bread, cinnamon, cinnamon swirl bread, cinnamon-sugar, oatmeal, oats
Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
rising: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 2 9x5" loaves
Brown-sugar and cinnamon swirls through a sweet dough made extra soft with a secret ingredient: cooked oatmeal!
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Ingredients

Bread Dough

  • 2 packages active-dry yeast (4 ½ teaspoons)
  • ½ cup warm water (95-115°F)
  • ¼ cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups cooked oatmeal, warmed (95-115°F)
  • ½ cup rolled oats (dry)
  • 5 cups all-purpose flour (add up to 1 cup extra if needed)

Cinnamon Swirl

  • 4 Tablespoons butter, separated
  • 1 ⅓ cups packed brown sugar, separated
  • 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, separated

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and brown sugar in warm water. Let rest 5 minutes until foamy.
  • Mix salt into warm oatmeal. Add salted oatmeal and melted butter or oil to the proofed yeast. Blend well. Add dry oats. Add up to 5 cups flour until stiff dough forms. Rest 15 minutes.
  • Knead 10 minutes until dough is elastic and smooth. Add additional flour if needed, up to 1 cup.
  • Place dough in greased bowl. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
  • Grease two 9x5" loaf pans.
  • In a small bowl, mix ⅔ cup packed brown sugar with 2 teaspoons cinnamon. In a separate small bowl, melt 2 Tablespoons butter. Set both aside.
  • Punch down dough. Separate into 2 portions.
  • Working with 1 dough portion at a time, on non-stick or lightly floured surface, roll out to 20" x 10" rectangle. Brush slightly more than half of the 2 Tablespoons melted butter to within 1" of the edge of the dough. Sprinkle slightly more than half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the melted butter.
    cinnamon swirl bread dough with cinnamon-sugar spread over the top
  • Bring short edges on each side to meet in the middle, overlapping slightly.
    cinnamon swirl bread dough with one side folded over to center
  • Press gently to seal.
    cinnamon swirl bread dough with both sides brought to middle over cinnamon-sugar and pinched to seal
  • Spread remaining butter to within 1" of edge of new top of dough. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture.
    cinnamon swirl bread dough with second layer of cinnamon-sugar over folded edges.
  • Roll up dough starting with one of the short edges. Gently pinch edge to seal. Gently pinch ends of loaf to seal. Place seam-side down in greased pan.
  • Repeat with second portion of dough, remaining butter and remaining brown sugar and cinnamon.
  • Cover loaves with a tea towel and allow dough to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F.
    cinnamon swirl bread dough rising on the oven
  • Bake 375°F for 30-35 minutes. Carefully remove loaves from pans immediately. Allow to cool before slicing.

Notes

Oatmeal: Cooked oatmeal can be made with either quick or old-fashioned oats.
Additional rolled oats: Quick and old-fashioned oats both work well.
Be sure to remove your bread from the pan immediately after it comes out of the oven. If any sugar has spilled out of the swirl, it will harden as it cools, cementing the bread to the loaf pan and generally making your life difficult.