Cinnamon Bread the crown jewel in my collection. When Cinnamon Bread was the offering I would have to bake 150 loaves in a day. Never were there anything but raves. And the house smelled wonderful for days afterwards.
The secret to this bread is a little trick known by few. After you roll the dough into a rectangle, rub
water over the surface with your hand until the entire top feels moist and glistens. Then sprinkle the
cinnamon and sugar on top and, with a dry hand, rub that in until it becomes darkened from the water. Not too
much water or the cinnamon/sugar will become liquidy and run out as the loaf bakes. Just the right
amount, however, brings out the flavor of the cinnamon and "welds" it to the dough. Most recipes use butter
(instead of water) which dries out the cinnamon rather than encourages it to participate.
Cinnamon Bread lasts for over a week and, well past that, makes wonderful toast. The dough can also be formed into cinnamon rolls. Roll the dough wider (and less high), use the water and cinnamon/sugar trick, then form into a jelly roll. Take a piece of thread and place it under the first "slice." Cross the ends of the thread over the top of the slice (as if you were tieing a knot). The thread will go through the dough clean and quick and leave the slice a perfect shape. A knife tends to flatten the slice and smear the cinnamon/sugar spiral. The rolls are placed on a greased pan and baked in a preheated 350 oven for 20 minutes.
| Mixer Recipe: 10-12 loaves | Small Recipe: 1-2 loaves or rolls |
|---|---|
| Regular loaf: 24 oz | Mini-loaf: 10 oz |
| 4 cups warm water | 1/2 cup warm water |
| 11 T Yeast (3/4 cup) | 2 T Yeast (not a typo!) |
| 6 cups milk, scalded | 1 cup milk, scalded |
| 3 cups sugar | 1/2 cup sugar |
| 10 tsp salt (3 T + 1 tsp) | 1-1/2 tsp salt |
| 6 sticks margarine | 1 stick margarine |
| 6 eggs (1-1/2 cups) | 1 egg |
| 28 cups flour in bowl | 4 cups flour in bowl |
| 4 cups cinnamon/sugar (1/3 cup per loaf) | |
Roll out dough. Spray with water. Rub water evenly.
Sprinkle c/s mixture and rub into water. Roll tight and
seal shut.
350° 30 min.