Anyone who gives you a cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven is a friend for life.

Daniel Handler

When my daughters were young, the whole family loved expensive, high-quality bread. We ate so much of it that one day I decided it would be a more affordable option to start making my own bread. I invested in a Korean Zojirushi full loaf bread machine. I’ve had it for fifteen years now, and it still works as well as it did when I first got it. I  bought “The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook” by Beth Hensperger to provide me with all the recipes I could ever want. The book itself is enormous – a mighty tome dedicated to bread making in all its variations and flavors.

My eldest daughter is discovering her love of baking and has adapted the bread machine recipes to make her own bread by hand. Here is her version of cinnamon swirl bread, which was always a favorite on early mornings when the girls were in high school. This bread is amazing – both sweet and filling at the same time. It’s best when hot and makes excellent toast.

HOLY COW CINNAMON SWIRL BREAD

Ingredients for a two-pound loaf:

• 1 ⅓ cups water
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 2 ½ teaspoons SAF yeast
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted or cut into pieces (or 3 Tablespoons Canola oil)
• 4 cups bread flour (OR 2 cups bread flour 2 cups white whole wheat flour)
• ¼ cup buttermilk (OR ¼ tablespoon lemon juice and ¼ cup milk)
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon gluten
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt

Ingredients for cinnamon swirl:

• ⅓ cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• OPTIONAL: ⅓ ish cup coconut flakes

Instructions:

1. Combine yeast, sugar and water in a bowl. Let stand for 5 min
2. Add  butter, bread flour, buttermilk, gluten, and salt. Mix thoroughly. Knead for about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary to make the dough less sticky
3. Place in a (clean) bowl, cover with a towel, and leave in a warm spot for 1 – 1 ½ hours
4. Remove dough and knead a few times before placing on a well-floured surface
5. Cut dough in half and roll each half into 8×12 rectangles
6. Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in microwave
7. Brush each rectangle with butter
8. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture onto the rectangles, leaving a 1 inch border
9. Starting at the short end, tightly roll up the rectangle into a loaf shape
10. Tuck the ends under and pinch the seams shut
11. Place loaves in separate oiled bread pans and cover with a towel. Leave in a warm spot for about 1 hour.
12. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes, then rotate the pans and bake for about 15 minutes until the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
13. Let cool for an hour or as long as you can stand smelling but not eating fresh bread.
14. EAT!