Cinnamon Swirl Bread with Vanilla Bean Whipped Butter

Cinnamon swirl bread with vanilla bean whipped butter – the cinnamon and vanilla bean pair perfectly in this elegant bread and butter combo that will have you swooning.

My love of vanilla beans isn’t quickly fading. Witness my collection of recipes starring vanilla beans: Very vanilla buttercream frosting, cinnamon vanilla bean meringues, clementine vanilla bean yogurt cake, vanilla bean whipped cream cheese, almond vanilla bean granola, vanilla bean cookie bars, vanilla bean ice cream, ….I could go on, but you get the idea.

I don’t see an end to my love of vanilla beans happening anytime soon ever.

In fact, I’m quite sure I’m addicted. Sign me up for rehab but I won’t show up! I’ll be in my kitchen concocting something that will surely have beautiful little black flecks in it and it might just be this cinnamon swirl bread.

There’s a company that sells vanilla beans–they’re called Beanilla. Heard of ’em? I’m quite smitten.

1. They are located (more or less) in my hometown.
2. They are very friendly and helpful.
3. They ship vanilla beans to your door. At a good price!

What’s not to love?

They recently sent me these Tahitian vanilla beans. These aren’t your average Joe vanilla bean.

Plump little suckers, aren’t they? They contain 2-3x the pulp of any other vanilla bean. Beanilla describes them as having a floral aroma with tones of ripe fruit and flavor rich with chocolate, licorice and caramel. To really showcase the flavor of these Tahitian vanilla beans, I like to use them in two  ways in this recipe: bread and butter. Sounds boring, but it isn’t.

The cinnamon swirl bread is a yeast bread, and does take a little time to make, but it’s worth it! The process is easier if you have a stand mixer. 

The vanilla bean butter is super easy and you can whip it up in a couple of minutes. It is so good on other kinds of breads and muffins, and also pancakes or waffles. You don’t have to make the cinnamon swirl bread to enjoy delicious vanilla bean butter.

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Cinnamon Swirl Bread with Vanilla Bean Butter

Yield: 1 loaf

Prep Time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes

Cinnamon swirl bread with vanilla bean whipped butter – the cinnamon and vanilla bean pair perfectly in this elegant bread and butter combo that will have you swooning.

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Ingredients

For the bread:

• 1 cup milk
• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 whole eggs (plus egg for egg wash, see below)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• pulp from one whole Tahitian vanilla bean
• 1 egg + 2 tablespoons milk (for egg wash)
• extra softened butter for pan

For the butter:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• the pulp of one whole Tahitian Vanilla Bean
• pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions

For the Bread:

1. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter with the milk. Heat until hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and cool until still slightly warm. Sprinkle yeast over the top, stir once and set aside for ten minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1/3 cup sugar and eggs using a paddle attachment. (I don’t have a stand mixer so I used a spoon and then kneaded by hand. I’d suggest the stand mixer if you have one.) Pour in milk mixture and combine. Add half of the flour and continue to beat on medium speed until moistened. Add the rest of the flour and beat until combined.
4. Remove paddle attachment and switch to dough hook. (Or if you’re an unfortunate sucker like me, dump it onto the counter and knead until you lose your mind. Or ten-ish minutes.) Knead dough on medium speed for ten minutes, adding 1/4 cup of flour if necessary, kneading for five more minutes.
5. Heat an empty glass bowl in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds just so it is warm. Pour in a little bit of canola or vegetable oil and toss the dough in the oil so it has a thin coating. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for two hours or more.
6. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine cinnamon, 1/3 cup of sugar and pulp of the vanilla bean (you may need to use a fork or small whisk to break up vanilla bean pulp. Add 3 tablespoons of cold butter. Using a fork, work this mixture together until the butter is in pea-size pieces.
7. On a floured or oiled work surface (I used oil), roll dough into a rectangle the width of your loaf pan and 18-24 inches long.
8. Evenly spread butter/sugar/cinnamon/vanilla mixture over rolled out dough. Starting at the far end, roll up dough, keeping it as tight as possible. Pinch seam to create a seal.
9. Coat the loaf pan in softened butter and place roll, seam side down, in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for two more hours.
10. Preheat oven to 350°F.
11. Create an egg wash by mixing an egg with a little bit (1-2 T) of milk and brush over the top of the loaf. Bake for 40 minutes on the middle or lower rack of your oven.
12. Remove from pan and cool. I recommend toasting slices of this bread and covering with a good helping of vanilla bean butter.

For the butter:

1. Whip all ingredients together using an electric beater or a whisk. Store in refrigerator but serve at room temp.

Notes

Cinnamon filling option: melt the butter and brushing it on the dough before sprinkling on the cinnamon-sugar mixture. I like pockets of ooey-gooey goodness reminiscent of a cinnamon bread my family gets every year at Christmas, so that is why I go with the chunkier butter method.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 445Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 113mgSodium: 274mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 2gSugar: 16gProtein: 8g

RachelCooks.com sometimes provides nutritional information, but these figures should be considered estimates, as they are not calculated by a registered dietitian. Please consult a medical professional for any specific nutrition, diet, or allergy advice.

Did you make this recipe?

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Verdict: Yum, yum, yum. The cinnamon swirl bread bread? Delicious and perfect. The butter? Very, very, very bad if you’re on a diet. You’ll want to spread this stuff on in a thick layer.
Husband’s take:
Him: “May I take this to work?”
Me: “You’ll have to pry it out of my cold dead fingers first.”
Him: “Okay, well can you recreate the whole thing for me to take to work?”
Me: “Buy me a KitchenAid stand mixer and you’ll get way more bread like this.”
Him: “Okay!”
(1 minute of silence)
Him: “What’s a KitchenAid?”
Difficulty: I’m a bread newbie (in fact, this was my first loaf of bread…ever!), so I’m going to call this moderate in difficulty–especially if you don’t have a stand mixer.
Changes I would make: None.

Disclaimer: I received free products and was compensated for this post but all opinions of the vanilla are 100% my own. As always. I’m really crazily in love with vanilla beans and Beanilla is the only place I buy them.