This bread is my childhood. My grandmother wrote a cookbook with all her go to recipes and the page this recipe is on is the most worn out in my copy. This cinnamon bread is whole family favorite. With my grandmother gone, I have started making this break and bringing it with me for every family vacation or anytime someone is visiting. Toasted with some good butter, you couldn’t ask for a better breakfast.
Cinnamon Bread
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 packets active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup butter room temperature
- 1/4 cup lard
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp salt
- 12 cups bread flour
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water (105-110℉), for about 5 minutes.
- Then add the butter, lard, sugar and salt. I usually stir this around with a fork to break up the butter/lard and make sure it’s all mixed. There will still be pieces of the butter/lard and that’s fine.
- Using a bread hook, mix in 6 cups of the bread flour for about 5 minutes.
- Then add in the remaining 6 cups, 2 at a time. Depending on your mixer, you may need to mix the last 2 cups by hand. My mixer can start sounding a little strained towards the end.
- Dump the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for at least 10 minutes.
- Then place in a large greased bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until you press your finger into the dough and the dent stays.
- Punch the dough down very well and let rise for another 45 minutes.
- Once the dough is almost done rising, melt the 1/4 cup butter and in a small bowl mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Dump the dough onto a floured surface and divide into 3 parts.
- Roll out each portion into a large rectangle, brush a layer of butter and spread a thin layer of the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture on top.
- Roll up the rectangle into a loaf and place each one in a greased bread pan. Make sure the seam of the loaf is on the bottom.
- Brush the top with butter and sprinkle the top with more of the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture.
- Cover the filled bread pans with damp cloths and let rise for 1 hour, or until the loafs reach the top of the pans.
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Bake loafs for 20 minutes. Then lower oven temp to 350℉ and bake for 20 more minutes, or until golden brown on top.
- Let loafs slightly cool in bread pans and then remove them and let cool completely on a rack.