This Cinnamon Swirl Bread comes together with ease, while making a beautiful centerpiece for your brunch table! All you need to make it is pre-made bread dough, cinnamon, sugar, butter, powdered sugar, and blood oranges. This makes the perfect treat for breakfast or even Easter Brunch!
This post is sponsored by our friends at Rhodes Bake-N-Serv! All opinions are my own.
This is a treat that looks more complex than it really is. The twisted swirl look on the top of the bread is beautiful to look at AND super simple to create – and you need surprisingly few ingredients to make it!
What you need for this recipe:
- Rhodes Thaw, Rise & Bake Bread Dough
- Butter
- Cinnamon
- Sugar
- Blood Oranges (or regular oranges)
- Powdered Sugar
- 1 Egg
See? So simple! You likely already have everything on hand except the dough and the blood oranges. Let’s learn how to make it!
How to Make Cinnamon Swirl Bread:
Starting with Rhodes Thaw, Rise & Bake dough is a great option if you’re not super comfortable making homemade dough! You don’t have to worry because half the work is already done!
Let one loaf of the dough thaw according to package directions – do make sure to give it the 2 hours to set out on the counter once it’s been thawed – it makes it easier to roll out. Get out a stick of butter and stir together your cinnamon sugar.
Once the dough is thawed, roll it out, spread with softened butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and a little orange zest. It’s just like making cinnamon rolls! Roll it up from the long edge, and pinch the outside edge to the dough log to seal it up. If it’s messy, don’t worry – this recipe is forgiving!
Use something like an offset spatula or a cookie spatula to gently scrape under the dough if it’s sticking to your counter a bit – it’s sturdy, so don’t worry about tearing it. Next, slice the entire dough log in half, down the length of the entire piece.
Turn the cut sides upward, and sprinkle in a little extra cinnamon sugar in any bare spots. Lay one piece over the other until you have a “braided” dough rope. Pinch the two pieces together at each end.
Next, pull one end of the bread rope down next to the other side, so you have an upside down “U” in front of you. Repeat the same process again – overlap each piece and pinch the ends together at the bottom.
Place this into a greased + parchment lined bread pan, and it’s ready for the oven! I included photos of two different loaves that I made just to let you see that there will be some variation in what each loaf looks like!
Brush the loaf with egg wash and sprinkle on some extra cinnamon sugar, then bake it for about 40 minutes! It will be deeply golden brown and it will smell AMAZING.
So amazing that anyone walking past your house will smell the cinnamon sugary goodness and see the cartoon squiggle lines that are wafting out of your kitchen.
Make the Blood Orange glaze by whisking together blood orange juice and powdered sugar – it’s that simple!! Let the bread cool for a bit, then pour that luscious, silky smooth glaze over the loaf! I’m telling ya – this cinnamon swirl bread is irresistible! This is pretty much the only thing I want to eat for brunch from now on!
Slather on some butter, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and DIG IN while it’s still warm!! It’s obviously best eaten warm, but it holds up well at room temp (covered) for a couple of days, too.
Oh – another fun thing about this recipe is that the Rhodes bread dough comes in bags of 3 or 5 loaves, so you can easily thaw as many or as few loaves of dough as you want! I thawed 2 loaves at once and made two loaves the day I photographed this recipe.
Just look at that beautiful cinnamon swirl and the fluffy texture of the bread! Oh – and the bottom of the loaf basically gets drenched in a caramel sauce that forms from the butter, cinnamon, and sugar while it bakes. AMAZING.
Happy baking, and happy Spring! What are you looking forward to baking this Spring?
Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment!
Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make!
Cinnamon Swirl Bread with Blood Orange Glaze
Ingredients
For the Cinnamon Swirl Bread:
- 1 loaf Rhodes Thaw Rise & Bake Bread Dough
- 6 TBSP salted butter softened
- 1/2 cup granulated or cane sugar
- 1 TBSP cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1 egg - for egg wash
For the Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 TBSP blood orange juice
Instructions
Prep: Thaw 1 loaf (or 2 if you want to double the recipe and make 2 loaves) of the dough according to package directions. Make sure to let it set out at room temp for 2 hours before rolling out - it makes it much easier to roll. Spray a bread pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
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Make the Cinnamon Swirl Bread: Don't flour your surface - this dough doesn't need it and it makes the dough harder to work with. Roll out the dough to about 22 inches across and 12 inches wide. Spread on the softened butter (if you didn't pull it out ahead of time to let it soften, you can microwave it on a plate for about 15 seconds - it's fine if it gets a tad melty). Sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar, leaving a few tablespoons behind to add to the top of the loaf later. Sprinkle on the orange zest.
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Refer to the step-by-step photos above in the blog post if you need help visualizing any part of this. It's really simple - I know you can do it! Roll the dough up from the long side, rolling it as tightly as you can - like with cinnamon rolls. Slice this dough log down the center lengthwise (see photos above), leaving 1 inch at the top un-cut. Turn the cut sides of the dough facing up, (sprinkle extra cinnamon sugar in any bare spots), then gently lay one side over the other, like a braid, down the whole length of the dough. Pinch the ends together at the bottom. Slice through the remaining bit of dough at the top, and twist it together up there, then pinch those ends together. (I know it seems odd, I just found leaving a bit of the dough attached easier than cutting it all in half to begin with). Pull one side of the dough rope down towards you so you have an upside down "U" shape. Gently cross one piece over the other again all the way down the length of the dough. Tuck the ends under.
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Bake: Gently place the loaf into prepared pan. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with extra cinnamon sugar. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until deeply golden brown.
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Make the Blood Orange Glaze: Whisk together powdered sugar and blood orange juice.
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Serve + Store: Pour the glaze on top and enjoy while warm! Serve with butter and a hot cup of coffee. Mmm. This is best enjoyed warm, but leftovers can be covered well and stored at room temp for 2-3 days.
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