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Home » Recipes » Bread Recipes » Easy Cinnamon Raisin bread

Easy Cinnamon Raisin bread

April 9, 2020 by Alida Ryder 19 Comments

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Inspired by my love of Hot Cross Buns, this easy cinnamon raisin bread is the perfect recipe for Easter. Soft, fluffy and perfectly spiced.

Easy HoEasy cinnamon raisin breadt cross bun loaf

I absolutely love Hot Cross Buns and it’s simply not Easter without them. However, I love toasting hot cross buns so this raisin bread gives me all the joy of my beloved Easter treat with the added benefit that slices can easily be toasted. However, this bread is so soft and fluffy, you’d be forgiven for eaten slice after slice as is. No toasting necessary. To make this as easy as possible, I adapted my Easy White Bread recipe and just added the flavors of hot cross buns. No egg necessary and if you don’t have butter, you can use oil!

If you are not a fan of raisins or dried fruit (cranberries, chopped apricots, etc. can be used instead of raisins), use chocolate chunks or leave them out entirely. This bread recipe will be delicious regardless.

Easy cinnamon raisin bread recipe.

Ingredients needed

Full recipe + amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

  • Flour: I used cake (wheat) flour but you can use all purpose or bread flour too. Stoneground flour will need a little extra rising time but most commercial bread flours will react the same as all purpose or cake flour.
  • Yeast.
  • Milk / Water: I used half milk and half water but you can use only milk or only water if you prefer.
  • Sugar. 
  • Spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger.
  • Butter. You can use vegetable/canola oil too if you prefer.
  • Raisins. Use any dried fruit you like or substitute with chocolate chunks/chips.
  • Salt. 

How to make raisin bread

  1. Make the dough: Combine warm water and milk with yeast and sugar in a mixing jug. Whisk together and then allow to stand for 5-10 minutes until foamy. Take care not to heat the water and milk too much, you want the liquid to be just warm enough so that when you stick your finger in, it feels pleasantly warm, not hot. If the liquid is too hot, it will kill the yeast. Combine the dry ingredients (start with only 3 cups of flour) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. With the mixer running, pour in the yeast mixture. Allow to combine then add the butter/oil. Add the raisins and knead for a minute. If needed, add the remaining flour a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is smooth and soft and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Cover with a damp dish towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise for an hour until doubled in size.
  2. To make by hand: Follow the ingredients as above, just mix with your hand in a large bowl until a shaggy dough forms then turn out onto a floured surface and knead until soft and smooth. Place back into the bowl, cover and allow to rise for an hour.
  3. Roll the dough:Transfer the proofed dough to a lightly floured surface then press into a rectangle as wide as your loaf pan. Press any loose raisins into the center then roll the dough onto itself into a log. Pinch the seam together. Line a loaf pan with baking/parchment paper then transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Cover again then allow to rise for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven.
  4. Bake the raisin bread: Brush the bread with beaten egg and bake for 30-45 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. If the top of the bread browns too quickly, loosely cover with foil. Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Easy cinnamon raisin dough

Can you freeze raisin bread?

Yes absolutely! Freeze slices of raisin bread and toast from frozen. Alternatively, the dough can be frozen in a loaf pan and baked from frozen. Baked raisin bread will last for up to 3 days wrapped in foil on the kitchen counter.

Easy cinnamon raisin bread

Easy bread recipes

  1. Easy crusty bread
  2. Soft and fluffy bread rolls
  3. Easy White Bread
Raisin bread

Easy Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Inspired by my love of Hot Cross Buns, this easy cinnamon raisin bread is the perfect recipe for Easter. Soft, fluffy and perfectly spiced.
4.47 from 26 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cinnamon raisin bread, Cinnamon raisin bread recipe, Raisin bread
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Cooling time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 8 (Makes 1 medium loaf)
Calories: 389kcal
Author: Alida Ryder

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 3/4 cup warm milk
  • 10 g (2tsp) instant yeast
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3-4 cups flour (any white flour can be used: Cake, all purpose or bread)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • 1/3 cup butter / oil (room temperature butter)
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 egg beaten (for egg wash) (optional)

Instructions

  • Whisk water, milk, sugar and yeast together. Allow to stand for 10 minutes until foamy.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the flour, spiced and salt.
  • With the mixer running, add the yeast mixture and allow to knead in.
  • Add the butter or oil, allow to knead in then add more flour, one third cup at a time until the dough is smooth. Add the raisins.
  • Knead for another minuted until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
  • If the dough is still very sticky, add more flour and knead in.
  • The dough should be smooth and soft and only a slight bit sticky.
  • Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and allow to rise for 1 hour.
  • Once the dough has proofed, press it into rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Press any raisins that have fallen out of the dough into the center. Roll onto its self into a log, pinch the seam then transfer to a loaf pan that has been lightly greased.
  • Cover again and allow to rise for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
  • Brush with beaten egg and place in the oven and allow to bake for 30-45 minutes until golden brown and risen. If the bread browns too quickly, loosely cover with a piece of foil and continue baking. Once baked the bread will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing.

Nutrition

Calories: 389kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 390mg | Potassium: 372mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 313IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 2mg
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Filed Under: Bread Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: baking, Bread, bread dough, bread recipe, cinnamon raisin bread, Easter recipe, easy bread recipe, hot cross bun bread, hot cross bun loaf, raisin bread

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Comments

  1. Cindy

    February 17, 2021 at 3:09 PM

    This is the cinnamon raisin bread that I’ve been looking for! One that didn’t have the cinnamon swirl but included cinnamon and raisins. I used all purpose flour and it turned out great! I find it more dense then traditional white bread but that may have been the AP flour (I’ll try cake or bread flour next time). I cooked it 35 minutes, so it may have needed more time in the oven as well to lighten it up. My partner has been looking for a cinnamon raisin bread like his mom used to make every Christmas and this is as close as I’ve come so far, he loved it. I’ve found the cinnamon raisin bread recipes I’ve used in the past took forever to rise and never quite got the height of a traditional bread but this rose nicely. I proofed my yeast in a small amount of warm water (it’s hard to break the traditional bread habit!) then continued with the rest of the recipe / ingredients. I didn’t use the egg wash but rubbed some butter on it afterwards and it created a soft crust. This has been pinned and will be my go-to cinnamon raisin bread recipe!

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      February 18, 2021 at 3:37 PM

      So happy to hear that you and your partner loved this Cindy!

      Reply
  2. Diana

    January 20, 2021 at 10:55 PM

    Alida I’m planning on making this loaf very soon as it looks incredible. I was just wondering about the 3-4 cups of flour? Should I use 3 cups at the beginning (i.e. step 2) and then the rest (or however much is necessary (i.e. step 4)? Many thanks in advance!

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      January 24, 2021 at 8:28 AM

      I always start with 3 cups, since flour can have different levels of absorbency and you might not need the full 4th cup. If the dough looks too sticky, I add the rest of the flour until the dough comes together.

      Reply
  3. Lynne

    January 9, 2021 at 7:42 PM

    Your recipe casts to use a mixer. Can this be done by hand?

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      January 24, 2021 at 8:41 AM

      Of course, I would just start the dough in a bowl and then turn out onto a counter to knead.

      Reply
  4. roy

    October 19, 2020 at 5:01 PM

    why wwarm water or warm milk. bit confused

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      October 22, 2020 at 7:42 AM

      If you’d prefer to keep it lactose free, use warm water instead of warm milk.

      Reply
    • Lesley

      January 14, 2021 at 6:57 PM

      Hi. Using warm milk or water helps the yeast to start working. The sugar feeds the yeast and the bubbles are what the yeast produces as it grows. Milk or water should be just warm on the inside of your wrist. Too hot your yeast will die. Cold and it will take a long time to activate your yeast.

      Reply
  5. Ryan

    September 5, 2020 at 3:20 AM

    is it 389cal for the whole loaf or just one slice?

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      September 9, 2020 at 10:00 AM

      The recipe makes 8 so it’s 8 thick-ish slices or 16 thin slices. The calorie count is per serving.

      Reply
  6. Flora

    July 24, 2020 at 7:04 AM

    Thanks so much for the recipe!!! It came out beautifully!! I used all purpose flour, and it was super moist, light and fluffy. I will definitely making this again very soon.

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      July 26, 2020 at 1:19 PM

      So happy to hear that, Flora!

      Reply
  7. Niny

    July 20, 2020 at 2:07 PM

    I’ve made it 3 times in the past few days and it’s incredible! The crumb is so soft and delicious, but my crust always turns out really “crusty”. Yours however looks amazingly soft, like store bought! What am I doing wrong? I eggwash towards the end of baking, is that the problem?
    Thanks for this magical bread recipe ?

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      July 26, 2020 at 1:20 PM

      If you want it to be nice and soft, brush it with melted butter as it comes out of the oven. It will be perfectly soft. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Kelly

    June 6, 2020 at 12:19 AM

    I’ve made it a couple times now and it’s wonderful!

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      June 6, 2020 at 2:43 PM

      So happy to hear that Kelly. 🙂

      Reply
    • Lynne

      January 13, 2021 at 4:05 PM

      I made this recipe and it tastes lovely. However, it is very heavy and dense? Why do you think this is?

      Reply
      • Alida Ryder

        January 24, 2021 at 8:40 AM

        That’s very strange. It shouldn’t be dense at all. Was it fully baked and cooled before you sliced into it?

        Reply

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Hi! I'm Alida, mom of twins and creator of Simply Delicious. I hope to encourage a love for cooking by creating fool-proof recipes that are easy and delicious. Read More…

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