This EASY Cinnamon recipe is made with no yeast. It smells so divine when it’s in the oven, there’s only one thing that can top it: that moment when you cut yourself a thick slice while it’s still warm, slather it with butter and take that first bite…..
A terrific quick bread recipe – emphasis on the word quick!
Super easy Cinnamon Bread recipe!
I bet it’s quicker for you to get this in the oven than to pop up to the shops for a loaf of cinnamon bread.
Truly. Dear readers, this is a quick bread. Emphasis on the word quick. I promise there is nothing tricky about this recipe, and it’s actually quite forgiving. Once I only used 2 cups of flour instead of 2 1/2 cups (sometimes I over estimate my multi tasking capabilities!) and it still came out pretty much perfect. Not quite as tall, but other than that, it was pretty much the same.
I use brown sugar instead of white, I swap the sour cream for yoghurt. If you don’t have baking soda, just use more baking powder and while it won’t rise quite as much, it will still rise well.
In short – this recipe is quite versatile and hard to stuff up. Just the sort of baking I like!
A beautiful, moist Quick Bread
Usually quick breads are either moist or they are not as moist but have a lovely buttery flavour. The reason for this is that in baked goods (muffins, cakes etc), butter provides flavour but not moistness, and oil makes things moist but doesn’t add flavour.
So my Easy Cinnamon Bread is a bit different because it’s super moist from the batter which is made with just oil, but you get delicious buttery flavour from the cinnamon-sugar-butter sludge (seriously, someone help me, there’s gotta be a better word!) that is dolloped into the batter.
Buttery Cinnamon Swirls!
Lastly, quick word of advice: do not stress about the swirl patterns!! Every time I make this Easy Cinnamon Bread, it comes out differently.
Sometimes there are more swirls so the cinnamon sugar is more evenly dispersed throughout the bread. I think this looks prettier but when the swirls aren’t so spread out i.e. thicker strips of cinnamon in the bread, then you get these amazing more concentrated patches of buttery-cinnamon-sugar which reminds me of cinnamon rolls.
Either way, it is so, so scrumptious.
You really don’t need to slather it with butter. But honestly……….why not? Go on. You deserve it! – Nagi x
More quick bread recipes
Easy Cinnamon Bread
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Easy Cinnamon Bread recipe video!
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Easy Cinnamon Bread
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups / 375g plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 cup / 220g white sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
Wet Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml vegetable oil
- 1 1/3 cups / 290g sour cream (Note 1)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar:
- 60g / 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon powder
- 3/4 cup / 165 g brown sugar, packed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F (all oven types).
- Grease a loaf tin approximately 21 x 11 cm / 8″ x 4″ and line with baking paper, leaving overhang (see video).
- Place Dry Ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Place Wet Ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk until combined.
- Place Cinnamon Sugar ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine (it should be like a slurry, see video).
- Make a well in the Dry Ingredients bowl. Pour in Wet Ingredients, then mix 12 – 15 times until just combined (few lumps ok, see video).
- Spoon about 1/4 of the batter into the tin (about 1.5cm / 3/5″ deep) and smooth surface.
- Dollop about 1/3 of the Cinnamon Sugar over the batter.
- Top with half the remaining batter. Dollop the remaining Cinnamon Sugar over the batter. Drag a butter knife back and forth (lengthwise and cross wisto make the swirls. Top with remaining batter – dollop it on, the more the Cinnamon Sugar is moved about, the more swirls!
- Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Then remove and cover with foil, and bake for a further 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Stand in the tin for 5 minutes before lifting it out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool before slicing (can still be warm but don’t slice while hot, may crumble). Moist and flavoursome enough to eat plain but a little extra butter doesn’t hurt!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
If you want something hard enough, it might fall onto the floor??
Nagi, I subbed Greek yoghurt for the sour cream and it reacted with the baking soda! The batter went all lumpy and then started to ooze out of the pan and overflow when baked! Had to scrape bits off the bottom of the oven (ate it, still good). Just wondered if this happened to you?
Woah – definitely NOT. That is really really weird. Yoghurt and sour cream have the same effect on baking soda. I’m so sorry to hear that Sheila, I can’t imagine what happened. Was it normal Greek yoghurt??
Made these into muffins again today because everyone was hungry and we couldn’t wait an hour for the loaf.
They rise a lot, so only fill half way. Plop a spoonful of mixture then 1/2teaspoon of cinnamon mixture, another spoonful of batter and then top with cinnamon mixture. Recommend spreading the cinnamon mixture rather than a dollop, because otherwise it sinks! At the shorter baking time for muffins, the cinnamon sugar caramelises but does not burn. I found 15-20 minutes is enough. And the mixture makes18 in a standard patty case. I subbed Greek yogurt for sour cream too. Thanks again Nagi!
Thank you for the review Tamarra, it’s so terrific to hear you enjoyed this! N xx
Howdy from Texas! Just found your site and am really enjoying it. I made this late tonight and I’d say that a Texas sized 9×5 loaf pan will probably work better. Mine overflowed as well and I left my husband in charge of the last 20 minute bake and HE FORGOT ABOUT IT!! Argh! It’s a little overdone but still smells awesome. Can’t wait to have it with tea in the morning.
Awwww HUBBY FAIL!!!! 😉 Hope it was still delish though – N xx
OK , hubby is forgiven because even a little over cooked it was delicious. It was great with my tea for breakfast and again at lunch! I’ve also made the lettuce wraps twice and I think I could eat it everyday. Thanks so much for the recipes.
BA HA HA! Na, I think you should still send him to the naughty corner! 😉 N xx
YUM…..was all I could hear as the cinnamon bread was being devoured for afternoon tea. An absolute winner once again! My kids now routinely ask when they sit down for dinner “is one of Nagi’s Mum”? Needless to say we are huge fans.
Massive goofy smile on my face reading this. ❤️
my first loaf is totally overflowing the bread-pan, but I’m certain it’s because I tried to adjust for high altitude. if you’re another high altitude Baker, I’d separate this into two loaves after adjusting (it smells amazing though).
Bugger! have you had this problem before with quick breads??? I didn’t realise that!
As I commented before, I went ahead and made this for my bridge club. They positively drooled over it – I was blown over with all the raves of these normally reserved people!
One question I had is, is it really necessary to use a paper liner? I usually never have a problem turning out cake/loaf?
Hi Micheline! That’s so terrific to hear, thanks for letting me know! I use it because it makes it easier to turn out and there is a risk of the cinnamon sugar bursting and sealing to the pan 🙂 If you don’t have problems then you can definitely skip it!
Hi Nagi! Just wondering if you’ve any advice, in terms of baking time, quantity of ingredients, method etc. if I would like to make these in a standard sized muffin tray (12 muffins)? I’m the only one with the sweet tooth and love for all-things-bread at home, so I’ll have to finish them all, by myself! Thank you for all the great recipes!
Hi Jenny! Baking will be 20 minutes and I think sometime said this made 13?? 🙂 I usually just stick overflow in a ramekin or similar. N xx
Thank you!!
Hey Nagi,
Oh Wow! This is so delish… I still have a loaf in deep freeze and it tastes so good warmed up. The smell of cinnamon in the kitchen is the best. It did not need any extra butter cos it tastes just great without spreading anything extra on it.
However, the reader who ramped up the recipe by frosting the cinnamon swirl bread with salted caramel icing is giving it an extra sugar/salty boost… mmm… I think I like that idea and will try it with the second loaf !!
I love the look on Dozer with his eyes staring so intently and hoping the delicious food will jump off the table and straight into his mouth. If it were Bertie, he would have the long drool strings hanging on each side of the mouth and the drool patch developing on the timber floor right below his mouth. Yup… That would be Bertie’s reaction to all that fantastic food on the table.
I know!! It sounds AMAZING, ramping it up like that! I have to give it a go one of these days! 🙂
Yes, another winner. I made it into muffins and found I had left over cinnamon slurry so I added icing sugar and turned it into a glaze for when they came out of the oven. I overfilled the patty cases but if appropriately sized I would have had 16-18. They froze well too.
Thank you for the tip!!! You saved me trying it! 🙂 PS Sounds like you made giant muffins with the overflowing tops, just like you get at bakeries…sounds perf to me! N xx
Hey…..LOVE so many of your recipes! Is the Nutrition of 569 calories, basically 1 Piece, if you cut it into 8 slices?
Thanks!
Hi Matt! yes that’s right 🙂 It’s a pretty GENEROUS piece!! I’m so pleased to hear you are enjoying my recipes Matt, thanks for reading! N x
Baked this today. Lovely loaf. I love cinnamon and I had just enough of my good Ceylon cinnamon to make this.
I think next time I make it, I will bake up some mini loaves to share. ☺
Thanks for trying my recipe Sandra! I’m so glad you liked it, thank you for the kind words. 🙂 Have a lovely weekend! N x
Rated!
This was soooo good Nagi. I baked yesterday with my 2yr old son,i hiden after our first 3 slices(1 for me and 2 for my son) coz he keep asking for more????.. he had another slice after his school today, and again keep asking for more(his energy level was so high after)??and oh,my husband who not big fun of cinnamon,says that this was taste good even with cinnamon?..
Fantastic to hear Jemayma! So glad you enjoyed it! N xx
Hi Nagi, I love your recipes and I really want to try this one! Problem is, I don’t have a loaf pan, if I were to make these into muffin form, would I have to change the baking settings? Thanks!!
Hi Erica! This is fantastic made into muffins 🙂 Bake time will be around 20 minutes, just stick a skewer or knife into the middle to ensure it’s cooked. N x
Thank you for the lovely recipe 🙂 I made it yesterday and there’s nothing left anymore. SO good with a cup of coffee! Just wondering, I’m no baking expert and I decided to weigh the flour (375g) and then compare it to what I would have gotten if I had measured by volume (scooping the flour in.. not packing etc..) I got such a big discrepancy.. Is there a difference in Australian cups? My 2.5 cups in Canada didn’t get close to 375 g. Sorry if this is a silly question!!
Again thanks for the sharing this!
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie! I’m so glad you enjoyed this! Thank you for asking such a great question. You are right, you will get less than 375g because Canadian and US cups are slightly smaller than Australian cups. In some parts of the world (most of Europe), baking is done using measures by weights and volumes, rather than cups which is why I provide grams and volumes. In other parts of the world, cups are used. In Australia, we use both! My assumption is that people who use weights will only use the weights and volumes measures in the recipe, and for those who use cups (US) they will only use cups. However, this recipe is actually quite forgiving so even if you used grams for flours then cups for say the oil, then it will still work out just fine! For recipes where it really does matter about switching between volume/weights and cups, I write the ingredients out twice (like some cookie recipes). Hope that helps, and sorry for long winded response! N xx
Thanks for clarifying that for me 🙂 I appreciate the time you took to write that out.. I even found part of my answer in your “about” section! I think what also threw me off was when I googled the weight of an Australian cup of flour I got 132g as an answer… But I guess my takeaway is that to be safe (especially with baking), I should stick with measuring only with cups, OR with weights and volumes in order for the ingredient ratio to work..
Thanks again!!
Hi Nagi,
Can the melted butter be used instead of vegetable oil?
Hi Rose! You can but the bread won’t be as moist because butter doesn’t provide moisture in cakes 🙂 N x
We tried it, we loved it, mortared a true cinnamon stick in and the whole house smells of cinnamon bread even 4 hours later. Wonderful
Woah that would be wonderful grinding up cinnamon sticks! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it Andrea, thank you for letting me know! N x
Made it, loved, it, changed it by adding more cinnamon and some frosting. Cinnamon salted-caramel buttercream frosting. The two humans and the dog have decided I don’t have to cook supper. We are going to eat the whole loaf. The cat thinks we’re nuts. But what do cats know about cinnamon?
OMG! You totally ramped it up!!! 🙂 PS Whatever the dog says, right? 😉
very yummy!! made this for breakfast and it got scarfed down…. flavors of cinnamon rolls but more tender and much, much easier!! while from start to finish it’s about the same time involved, with cinnamon rolls most of the time is labor intensive, this quick bread only takes minutes to mix and assemble – most of the time involved is in the oven which means i can sit with my morning tea and watch me some English football….
I did add some frosting to make it more like a cinnamon roll. I would add a titch of salt to the batter next time i make this. (maybe 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon?) but this definitely is a keeper and i will be making it again!
Woah!That was quick to make!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this Kathleen, thank you for letting me know! N xx PS Cinnamon bread + football….I’ll take the former! 😉
As with all your recipes Nagi, this tastes amazing! I clearly messed up the construction, though – most of my cinnamon-butter slurry ended up as a crunchy, chewy gorgeous layer at the bottom. Not saying that was a bad outcome … it was delicious … but I’m guessing I need to put more of the batter at the bottom as a first layer? I still introduced my boys to it … hope it kicks off their childhood memory of cinnamon bread.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jo! The way I avoid that is to only dollop about 1/3 of the slurry onto the first layer (then 2/3 in the 3nd layer), I have had that problem in the past 🙂 I will try remember to “Measure” the depth of the first layer next time I make this, I think that’s the key, because it is a bit tricky to estimate how much batter you are pouring in. N xx
What a gorgeous recipe Nagi! I tried it out this afternoon and there is nothing left – so warm and comforting! Its like a hug from the inside
Whaaat? You DID?? OMG that was so fast!!! Best testament EVER from a baking expert, thank you so much for trying this! 🙂 N x