This sweet and comforting loaf is a family favourite and we love this simple recipe from Danish cook Trine Hahnemann’s new book Scandinavian Green
IMAGE: COLOMBUS LETH
Since I was a child, cinnamon bread has been a favourite of mine and our local bakery sold it every day. In school when we had our lunch break, we would sometimes sneak out and buy kanelbrød and share it among us. I remember it always being sweet, soft, warm and comforting. I promise it is still like that when you bake it at home. You will need a 2-litre (2-quart) loaf tin.
Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Makes a 2kg (4lb 8oz) loaf
Ingredients
For the dough
- 50 g (1¾oz) fresh yeast, or 12g (½oz) dried yeast
- 400 ml (1⅔ cups) lukewarm whole milk
- 100 g (7 tbsp) salted butter melted, then cooled to lukewarm, plus more for the tin
- 1 egg lightly beaten, plus 1 more egg, again lightly beaten, to glaze
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 700 g (5 cups) strong white bread flour plus more to dust
- 1-2 tbsp icing sugar confectioner’s sugar, to serve
For the filling
- 200 g (scant 1 cup) salted butter, softened
- 150 g (¾ cup) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon ideally Sri Lankan
Instructions
- For the dough, dissolve the yeast in the milk in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and the beaten egg and stir well, then mix in the salt and flour.
- Knead the dough on a floured work top for 5–10 minutes. Return it to the bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, in another bowl, beat together all the ingredients for the filling. Butter a 2-litre (2-quart) loaf tin.
- Tip the dough out on to a floured work top and knead lightly. Roll it out into a rectangle about 40 x 30cm (16 x 12in). Spread the filling on the surface and roll the dough up into a cylinder from the short side, then place it in the prepared tin, seam side down. Let it rise for 30 minutes.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
- Brush the loaf with the beaten egg and bake for 30–35 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Cool on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar before serving.
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