Is there anything more delicious than homemade yeast bread? Cinnamon swirl bread is absolutely heavenly, with a beautiful vein of rich cinnamon running through it.
Combine flour, ⅓ cup sugar, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs with fork until blended.
Microwave milk and 6 tablespoons butter on high power 1 minute, 15 seconds, stirring occasionally. Temperature of the milk mixture should be 125°F. If necessary, microwave in 10 second increments, stirring each time until milk reaches the correct temperature.
With mixer on low speed, with dough hook attachment, slowly add milk mixture to bowl, followed by the eggs, and mix until blended, scraping bowl as needed.
Increase speed to medium low (#2) and knead until dough is smooth, about 8 to 10 minutes. Dough will be sticky but shouldn’t stick to your finger when you press it.
Grease another bowl with 1 teaspoon oil. Remove dough from mixer and shape into a ball. Place in greased bowl; flip to coat all sides with oil.
Cover and let rise in a warm place for 60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine cinnamon, ⅓ cup of sugar, cinnamon, 1 tablespoon flour, and 2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces. Using a fork or your fingers, work mixture together until blended (should look like wet sand).
Lightly spray loaf pan with nonstick spray or grease with butter.
On a floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle the width of your loaf pan (the long side) and 18 inches long.
Evenly spread cinnamon mixture over rolled out dough, leaving a 1 inch border. Starting at the short end closest to you, firmly roll up dough, keeping it tight. Pinch bottom seam well to create a seal. Place dough in prepared pan, seam side down, firmly tucking in ends.
Cover and let rise for one hour or until doubled.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Bake for 60 minutes on the middle lower rack of your oven. Check at 30 minutes and tent with foil if bread is browning too quickly. Remove from oven and brush top with melted butter, if desired.
Cool bread 10 minutes in the pan before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
If you don't have a stand mixer, you can use a powerful hand mixer with a dough hook, or knead the bread by hand.
Storage/Freezing: The bread will keep on the counter for a few days, or in the refrigerator for a week. To freeze, slice the bread before freezing and store in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 2 months.