Sourdough cinnamon raisin bread is a quick and easy recipe that everyone will love! Warm cinnamon and sweet raisins, and of course some butter, make this recipe irresistible.
This cinnamon raisin bread recipe is especially dear to my heart because I used homemade raisins from the grapes I grew in my garden, AND honey that I harvested from my bees. It’s amazing what my little backyard garden has produced this year. This recipe is a spinoff of my popular sourdough sandwich bread recipe. So if you’ve made that one already, you are going to love this!
Tips for Making Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Sourdough cinnamon raisin bread is a simple loaf bread that anyone can make. Here are a few tips to make this recipe even better!
- If you don’t want raisins throughout the entire loaf, just add them in the swirl when you are adding the cinnamon. You could leave them out entirely, or add other dried fruits like cranberries or apricot.
- If the dough is too sticky to work with, then add flour to your hands. You can do this as many times as necessary throughout the process.
- If you live in a cold climate or your house or countertops are very cold, you can leave the dough on top of a heated blanket on a low setting to help it stay warm. Alternatively, you can preheat your oven to about 100 degrees and set your dough in it for a makeshift proofing box.
Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe
1. In a large bowl, add starter and water. Stir until the starter dissolves into the water. Then add oil and stir.
2. Add honey and stir until completely dissolved. This may take a few minutes.
3. Add salt and stir.
4. Now add your flour. Using your hands, stir the flour into your sourdough mixture. It will be very sticky, but just keep mixing until the flour is fully incorporated. Then let the dough rest on the counter for 15 minutes.
5. Now we will do our first stretch and fold. I like to have a small bowl of flour next to me to flour my hand with because this dough is incredibly sticky to start out. Grab the edge of the dough and pull it upwards until you feel resistance, and then gently push it into the center. Rotate the bowl and repeat the process until each edge has been stretched and folded a few times. Continue to flour your hand as needed. Cover and let rest for 30 min-1hr.
6. Repeat step 5 three more times for a total of 4 stretch and folds. On the final (fourth) stretch and fold, add the raisins to the dough as you are working it to fully incorporate.
7. Let rest for 15-20 minutes and then do your first stretch and fold. Coat your hands In flour to help you stretch and fold your dough. Mixing with your hands will help you know what your dough needs to create the best bread consistency. Don’t worry if your bread is sticky, sticky bread rises high.
8. Cover with plastic wrap or a hair net, let rest for 30 minutes or an hour or however long your schedule allows. then come back and do another stretch and folds. by the end of this recipe, you will do 4 stretches and folds. Every thirty minutes when I do my stretch and folds.
9. Cover the dough and allow it to rest (ferment) in a warm room or sunny window for 6 hours.
10. Get out 2 large loaf pans, or 3 regular pans, and butter and flour them. Set aside.
11. On a clean countertop, remove the dough from the bowl with a bench scraper. It will still be fairly sticky. Cut the dough into halves (for two large loaves) or thirds (for three regular loaves).
12. Lightly flour your hands and the top of the first section of dough. Gently flatten the dough out into a rectangle about an inch thick. Now generously sprinkle the top of the dough with cinnamon. You want to cover the entire top with cinnamon, somewhere around 2-4 Tbsp. Then sprinkle additional raisins on top of that.
13. Using your bench scraper, gently roll the dough into a log (like you would a cinnamon roll). Make sure the roll is fairly tight. Then place the dough into the bread pan and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat this process with the remaining dough. Allow the loaves to rest for 2 hours or until risen to the top of the bread pan.
14. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Optional: Rub butter over the top of your warm loaves to keep the crust soft. Remove bread from pans and allow to cool for two hours on cooling racks. Enjoy!
Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Ingredients
- 2 C active sourdough starter 272 Grams
- 3 C water, room temperature or tepid 711 Grams
- 1/4 C oil 85 Grams
- 2 Tbsp honey 43 Grams
- 3 Tsp salt 40 Grams
- 6 C bread flour 816 Grams
- 1 C Raisins
- Cinnamon to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add starter and water. Stir until the starter dissolves into the water. Then add oil and stir.
- Add honey and stir until completely dissolved. This may take a few minutes.
- Add salt and stir.
- Now add your flour. Using your hands, stir the flour into your sourdough mixture. It will be very sticky, but just keep mixing until the flour is fully incorporated. Then let the dough rest on the counter for 15 minutes.
- Now we will do our first stretch and fold. I like to have a small bowl of flour next to me to flour my hand with because this dough is incredibly sticky to start out. Grab the edge of the dough and pull it upwards until you feel resistance, and then gently push it into the center. Rotate the bowl and repeat the process until each edge has been stretched and folded in a few times. Continue to flour your hand as needed. Cover and let rest for 30min-1hr.
- Repeat step 5 three more times for a total of 4 stretch and folds. On the final (fourth) stretch and fold, add the raisins to the dough as you are working the dough to fully incorporate them.
- Cover the dough and allow it to rest (ferment) in a warm room or sunny window for 6 hours.
- Get out 2 large loaf pans, or 3 regular ones, and butter and flour them. Set aside.
- On a clean countertop, remove the dough from the bowl with a bench scraper. It will still be fairly sticky. Cut the dough into halves (for two large loaves) or thirds (for three regular loaves).
- Lightly flour your hands and the top of the first section of dough. Gently flatten the dough out into a rectangle about an inch thick. Now generously sprinkle the top of the dough with cinnamon. You want to cover the entire top with cinnamon, somewhere around 2-4 Tbsp. Then sprinkle additional raisins on top of that.
- Using your bench scraper, gently roll the dough into a log (like you would a cinnamon roll). Make sure the roll is fairly tight. Then place the dough into the bread pan and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat this process with the remaining dough. Allow all loaves to rest for 2 hours or until risen to the top of the bread pan.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Optional: Rub butter over the top of your warm loaves to keep the crust soft. Remove bread from pans and allow to cool for two hours on cooling racks. Enjoy!
