Cinnamon powder is believed to be one of the healthiest spices as it can lower blood sugar levels, reduce heart disease risk factors and has other health benefits. I use Ceylon (versus the Cassia variety) cinnamon powder mainly to add aroma and flavour to my rolls, buns, kringles and breads. I just love the aroma which permeates my house when I am baking. Usually, I will bake cinnamon rolls for my family. But for a change I decided to bake cinnamon bread using the recipe for the rolls.
Ingredients:
Dough:
- 2 tsp yeast
- 100 ml warm water
- 50 g castor sugar (I use brown sugar.)
- 100 ml milk
- 75 g butter, melted
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 450 - 500 g all-purpose flour
Spread:
- Mix the following into a paste:
- 75 g butter, softened
- 80 g castor sugar (I use brown sugar.)
- 2 tbsp cinnamon powder
Method:
- Activate the yeast. Put the warm water into a bowl. Add the yeast and stir. Sprinkle some sugar onto the solution and wait for 5-10 minutes for the yeast to be activated.
- Put the remaining sugar, milk, butter, salt and egg into your mixing bowl.
- Add in the activated yeast.
- Add in the flour, a little at a time and knead until the dough is smooth and forms into a ball. At this point, it should be easy to handle. (You may not need to use all of the all-purpose flour.)
- Grease a bowl. Transfer the dough into the bowl. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and put a wet towel over the cling wrap.
- Let the dough proof for an hour or until it doubles in size.
- Grease and line the bread pan 10 inches x 4 inches x 4 inches.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down.
- Roll it out into a big rectangle.
- Spread the cinnamon paste onto the dough.
- Cut the dough into smaller rectangles measuring about 3 inches x 4 inches.
- Stack them up vertically in the bread pan.
- Cover the pan with cling wrap and put a wet towel over the cling wrap. Let the dough proof till double in size.
- Pre-heat your oven to 175 degrees Centigrade.
- Bake your dough for 30 minutes.
- Remove your cinnamon bread from the bread pan and let it cool down completely on the wire rack.
