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Fall in Love with Baking: Spicing Up Your Bread Game 🍂🥖

Henry Hunter
Cinnamon raisin swirl bread sliced on wooden board showing spiral pattern and golden crust

Discover the Magic of Warming Spices in Your Autumn Loaves

Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Difficulty: Intermediate
By: Henry Hunter

Introduction

Fall baking means layering flavors, and this bread does exactly that. You get soft enriched dough with pumpkin and warm spices, then a cinnamon sugar swirl running through the center. It’s not quite cake, not quite sandwich bread. It lands somewhere in between, which is exactly where you want it.

This is enriched bread, so it’s got butter, egg, and milk working alongside the flour. The pumpkin adds moisture and a subtle sweetness without turning this into dessert. The cinnamon swirl gives you that bakery-style appeal with minimal extra work.

I make this when I want something impressive that doesn’t require sourdough timing or fussy lamination. Mix, rise, roll, bake. The house smells amazing for hours after it comes out of the oven.

Baker's hand sprinkling cinnamon from glass jar into bowl of flour for fall bread baking

Ingredients

Dough

Cinnamon Swirl

Optional Glaze

Equipment

Time Breakdown

Servings: 1 loaf (12 slices)

Vintage spice rack with multiple jars in rustic farmhouse kitchen with copper cookware

Instructions

Step 1: Mix the Dough

In your stand mixer bowl (or large mixing bowl), combine flour, sugar, instant yeast, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Whisk together so the yeast distributes evenly.

In a separate bowl, whisk together warm milk, pumpkin puree, melted butter, and egg until smooth. The mixture should be uniform with no butter clumps floating.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix on low speed with the dough hook or by hand with a wooden spoon. Continue mixing until everything comes together into a shaggy mass. This takes about 2 minutes.

Step 2: Knead Until Smooth

Increase speed to medium (or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface) for 8-10 minutes. The dough should become smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky but not sticky. It’ll pull away from the bowl sides but might still cling to the bottom.

If it’s too wet and won’t come together, add flour 15g at a time. If it’s stiff and dry, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Enriched dough should feel soft and pliable.

Step 3: First Rise

Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Turn once to coat. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap.

Let rise at room temperature (70-75°F) until doubled in size, about 90 minutes. Poke test: if your finger leaves an impression that slowly springs back halfway, you’re ready. If it springs back completely, give it more time.

Step 4: Prepare the Filling

While the dough rises, mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Have your softened butter ready.

Step 5: Shape and Fill

Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Press gently to deflate. Roll into a rectangle roughly 9 inches wide by 18 inches long. The width should match your loaf pan length.

Spread the softened butter evenly across the entire surface. Leave a ½-inch border on one long edge. This helps seal the roll.

Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the butter. Press it gently with your hand so it adheres.

Starting from the long edge opposite your border, roll the dough tightly into a log. Keep tension consistent as you roll. When you reach the end, pinch the seam closed.

Step 6: Pan and Proof

Grease your 9×5 loaf pan or line with parchment paper. Place the log seam-side down in the pan. It should fill the pan length-wise with a little room on the ends.

Cover loosely. Let the dough proof at room temperature for 45-60 minutes. It should rise about 1 inch above the pan rim. It should look puffy and hold a gentle finger impression.

Step 7: Bake

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) while the dough proofs.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until deep golden brown on top. If it’s browning too quickly after 25 minutes, tent loosely with foil.

The internal temperature should read 190-195°F (88-91°C) when done. The loaf should sound hollow when tapped on top.

Step 8: Cool and Glaze (Optional)

Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely, at least 1 hour.

If using glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled loaf. Let the glaze set for 15 minutes before slicing.

Sliced cinnamon swirl bread showing spiral pattern with golden crust and soft crumb

Notes & Tips

Pumpkin Puree: Use plain canned pumpkin or homemade roasted pumpkin. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling (it has sugar and spices already mixed in). If your puree is watery, drain it through cheesecloth for 20 minutes before using.

Instant vs Active Dry Yeast: This recipe uses instant yeast, which can mix directly into dry ingredients. If using active dry yeast, dissolve it in the warm milk first. Let it foam for 5 minutes before proceeding.

Milk Temperature: 110°F feels warm to the touch but not hot. Too hot kills yeast. Too cold slows fermentation significantly.

Rolling Technique: Keep even tension as you roll. Loose rolling creates gaps; too tight can tear the dough. Aim for snug but comfortable.

Make Ahead: This dough can proof overnight in the fridge after shaping. Bring to room temp for 30 minutes before baking, or add 10 minutes to bake time straight from the fridge.

Storage: Keeps 3-4 days at room temperature wrapped in plastic or a bread bag. Freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Slice before freezing for easy toasting.

Swirl Variations: Try adding chopped pecans or mini chocolate chips to the cinnamon filling. Sprinkle them on after the cinnamon sugar.

No Stand Mixer? Hand knead on a clean counter for 10-12 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the dough is smooth and springs back when poked.

Nutrition (Per Slice, 12 slices)

Troubleshooting

Dense, heavy crumb? Likely underproofed. Give it more time in both rises. Enriched doughs take longer than lean doughs.

Dough too sticky to handle? Flour your hands and work surface lightly. Enriched dough should be soft and tacky. Resist adding too much flour or you’ll dry it out.

Swirl leaked out during baking? Roll was too loose or seam wasn’t sealed well. Next time, pinch that seam firmly and place seam-side down in the pan.

Top split open dramatically? Oven too hot or underproofed. Check your oven temp with a thermometer. Give the second rise more time.

Cinnamon swirl has gaps? The dough pulled apart during rolling. Keep consistent tension and don’t stretch the dough, just roll it snugly.

Why This Works

Enriched dough behaves differently than lean sourdough. The butter, egg, and milk create a tender crumb by coating flour proteins and limiting gluten development. That’s why you want smooth, elastic dough but not super-strong windowpane levels.

Pumpkin adds moisture without making this sweet bread. The puree brings natural sugar and beta-carotene (that orange color) while keeping the crumb soft for days.

The warming spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger) complement the pumpkin without overpowering it. They’re measured carefully so you taste layers of flavor rather than one dominant spice.

Rolling the cinnamon filling creates visual appeal and concentrates the spice flavor in ribbons throughout the loaf. Every slice shows that spiral, which makes this feel bakery-level even though the technique is straightforward.

Cinnamon raisin swirl bread sliced on wooden board showing spiral pattern and golden crust

Final Thoughts

This bread walks the line between breakfast treat and dessert. Toast a slice and butter it for breakfast, or serve it plain with coffee in the afternoon. The pumpkin keeps it moist enough that you don’t need anything on it, but butter never hurts.

The recipe scales well if you want to make multiple loaves. They freeze perfectly and make solid gifts during the fall months. Wrap one up with a kitchen towel and a cinnamon stick tied with twine. People lose their minds over it.

If you’re looking for something festive but don’t want to commit to sourdough timing, this is your answer. You also may not want to deal with laminated dough complexity. Mix it in the afternoon, bake it before dinner, and have fresh bread cooling by the time you finish eating.

That’s fall baking at its best.

Related Recipes: Try my Sourdough Pumpkin Bread for a tangier, more complex version. You can also check out the seasonal recipes in Baking Great Bread at Home: A Journey Through the Seasons.

Fall Spicing Tips for Bread Bakers

Since we’re talking about warming spices, here are a few principles I follow:

Start Conservative: These spices are potent. You can always add more next time, but you can’t take them back. Start with the recipe amounts and adjust from there.

Balance with Fat and Sugar: Spices need something to carry their flavor. Butter, oil, eggs, or sugar help distribute and mellow the spice notes. That’s why enriched breads take spices better than lean doughs.

Check Your Spice Freshness: Ground spices lose potency after 6-12 months. If yours have been sitting in the cabinet for years, they won’t deliver the punch you expect. Replace them.

Consider Toast Level: Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves all have different heat levels. Cloves are strong and slightly numbing. Use them sparingly. Cinnamon is mellow and sweet. You can use more.

Layering Works: Instead of dumping all your spices into the dough, try layering. Spices in the dough, different spices in the filling, maybe a spiced glaze. Each layer adds complexity without overwhelming any single element.

For Lean Doughs: If you’re adding warming spices to lean sourdough (like in my sourdough pumpkin bread), use fewer spices. Go lighter than you would in enriched dough. The lack of fat and sugar means the spices hit harder and can taste bitter if overdone.

Seasonal Blends That Work:

Play with ratios until you find what you like. Write it down when you nail it, because you’ll want to repeat it and culture that surrounds bread-making traditions.

In this episode of Breaking Bread with Rachel Parker, host Rachel welcomes Chef Dave Palmer. Chef Dave is a seasoned baker and is also a member of the Baking Great Bread at Home community. Dave shares his innovative recipe for “Secret Wheat.” This method creates soft sandwich bread. The bread stays fresh for up to four to five days.

🥖🔬 Discover the science behind his approach. His method includes the use of autolyse and powdered apple cider vinegar. Learn how to replicate this groundbreaking bread at home. Don’t miss this insightful discussion with Chef Dave Palmer, where tradition meets innovation in bread baking. 🧪🥪 Check out the full recipe at Chefmylife.com.👋

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