Cinnamon Raisin Bread

This easy raisin bread recipe is the best we’ve ever made. It’s a super soft, moist, slightly sweet bread loaded with cinnamon and raisins – right in the dough instead of a swirl filling – to make the perfect healthy raisin toast. I’ve included homemade “not bread machine” instructions, as well as how to adapt to a bread machine.

For a long time, I avoided bread baking because I was afraid of using yeast. I stuck to recipes that used baking soda or baking powder for leavening, like Fluffy Biscuits or No Yeast Bread, or 2 Ingredient Bagels.

One day I got brave and tried No Knead Overnight Artisan Bread (the easiest bread recipe known to man) and when my family ate the entire loaf in one sitting, I knew I found something amazing.

I’ve tried all sorts of bread recipes over the years, but this recipe for raisin bread is near and dear to my heart because it reminds me of the Pepperidge Farm cinnamon bread my grandma used to buy when I was a kid!

Soft Raisin Bread Recipe

Similar to my Jalapeno Cheddar Bread, this raisin bread recipe is based on my Easy White Bread recipe, also affectionately known as Man Bread. It uses ingredients from the pantry, is ready in about 90 minutes, and doesn’t call for rolling or difficult shaping of the bread.

This raisin bread recipe can also easily be doubled, it freezes well, and the ingredients are flexible enough to be substituted with what you have and/or what your specific dietary needs are.

Truly, this homemade cinnamon raisin bread recipe will be one you’ll print and refer back to time and time again!

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Ingredients

You’ll need the following ingredients for cinnamon raisin bread:

• Fruit Juice. A sweeter juice that’s light in color, like apple juice or orange juice, or pineapple juice.
• Active Dry Yeast
• Granulated Sugar (or honey)
• Salt
• Coconut Oil (or melted butter)
• Flour. (I use all-purpose Einkorn flour because my daughter is sensitive to gluten.)
• Raisins
• Ground Cinnamon

How to Make My Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe

Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large bowl, combine warmed fruit juice (105-110F), sweetener, and yeast. Stir and let the yeast bloom until it’s foamy, about 5 minutes.

Step 2: Add all-purpose flour, salt, and oil. Using the dough hook, knead on medium speed until it almost pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 4-5 minutes. Alternatively, knead the dough by hand until it’s almost no longer sticky.

Step 3: Toss raisins with 1 Tbsp of flour in a small bowl. Then add the raisins and cinnamon to the dough and continue to knead until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, or is no longer sticky if kneading by hand.

Step 4: Remove the bowl from the mixer and tilt the bowl on its side. Add ½ tsp of oil to the bottom of the bowl and turn the dough to coat the dough in oil. No need to move to a separate greased bowl. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place, just above room temperature, for 1 hour.

Step 5: Preheat the oven to 450F.

Step 6: Measure a piece of parchment paper large enough to fit your Dutch oven with some overhang.

Step 7: After the first rise, dust the counter lightly with flour and turn the dough out onto your lightly floured surface. Knead bread by hand until it’s a firm ball of dough. Turn the ball over so the edges are on the bottom and lay it on top of the parchment paper.

Step 8: Cover with a towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, place the Dutch oven (no lid) in the oven to preheat.

Step 9: Remove the hot Dutch oven pot from your oven (be sure to handle the pot with oven mitts). Use the paper to pick up the dough and place it inside the Dutch oven pot so there is some overhang of paper.

Step 10: Bake your bread for 25 minutes.

Step 11: Once your bread is golden brown and done baking, remove the Dutch oven pot from the oven. Using your oven mitt, tilt the pot slightly by holding the handle, then use your other hand to grab the paper and easily slide the bread out of the pot.

Step 12: Discard the paper, and place your bread on a wire rack. Let the bread cool for 1-2 hours before slicing. Be sure to wait for slicing until the bread loaf is cooled completely.

Recipe for Raisin Cinnamon Bread Variations

• Use dried cranberries, dried blueberries, or goji berries instead of raisins
• Use pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice instead of cinnamon
• Add vanilla extract or vanilla powder
• Re-purpose juice or syrup from canned fruit instead of buying fruit juice

Making Bread Machine Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe

To make this recipe using a bread machine, follow the typical steps of your bread machine recipe (i.e. add all the ingredients to the machine, press the button, etc.). Follow the settings to bake the loaf in the machine, or just use the machine to make the dough. Then you can shape and bake the cinnamon raisin bread according to the recipe card below.

What to Serve with Homemade Raisin Toast

I personally like to smear raisin toast with butter, but one of my kids swears by peanut butter and the other is loyal to Nutella. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these, or even just your favorite jam or jelly!

Try raisin toast next to Perfect Scrambled Eggs or Homemade Breakfast Sausage for a healthy, balanced breakfast. Or go out of the box and make some French Toast!

FAQs for Raisin Bread Recipes

More Delicious Homemade Bread Recipes

• Rosemary Olive Oil Bread
• Easiest White Sandwich Bread
• No Knead Einkorn Sourdough Bread