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Easy and delicious cinnamon crumb breakfast bread with a light drizzle of sweet icing on top. This is great toasted with a cup of hot coffee in the morning!

Breakfast Bread in a loaf pan

I went to my local Costco last week and was hustling my way through the aisles, trying to keep to my 30 minute goal. I know the store like my own home so this short window of time seemed totally achievable even more so because my kids were at school.

That was until I turned a corner and had to pull back on my cart to avoid taking out a group of people lined up at a sample table. I’m a secret hater of the famous Costco sample cult just because they slow everything down. But this sample was different. As I inched my way forward, I noticed it was samples of a cinnamon bread I used to sell when I worked in Whole Foods  years ago. The bread is from a bakery called Greenlee’s  and we used to sell tons of it! It’s more of a dense bread, mainly because it’s loaded with cinnamon and pieces of crunchy, buttery crumb on top. So obviously I had to try and make it at home!

Tips for making this cinnamon breakfast bread.

  • The dough is made in two short stages, I’m not sure why but it works well like that. The dough can turn out quite loose and wet so make sure to have extra flour nearby to dust your worktop liberally. It might seem sticky but by adding small amounts of flour and kneading it, the dough will come together. It takes some patience.
  • The drizzle on top is optional. It does soften up that buttery crumb topping but it still manages to taste amazing.
  • This bread is best served warm or toasted to loosen up that brown sugar and cinnamon bread interior.
cutting.a slice of fresh baked breakfast bread

This breakfast bread actually resembles monkey bread but with fewer pieces and smaller. It’s the same idea of dividing the dough into small balls of dough and then tossing them in cinnamon and brown sugar.

Working with dough and yeast can be intimidating for some people but if you’re gentle with it and always let it rise to at least double the size on the first rise, then you should be okay. Don’t let it over-rise or the cinnamon bread will collapse  when you bake it.

Serving your cinnamon crumb breakfast bread

This bread should be served warm and I like to spread some really good butter on top of it also. It would make some really good French toast or lay a slice or two on a plate and drizzle with maple syrup and a dollop of whipped cream!

Storing your breakfast bread

I recommend always keeping it wrapped or it drys out quickly. No refrigeration is necessary.

cinnamon crumb bread on a cutting board

more breakfast bread recipes!

breakfast drinks

Breakfast bread slices on a cutting board

Cinnamon Crumb Breakfast Bread

Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 1
Author: foodnessgracious
A yummy cinnamon and brown sugar breakfast bread topped with a buttery crumble topping. This bread is perfect toasted and spread with butter or Nutella. 
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 envelope quick rise yeast 7g
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • ⅓ cup milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour plus extra for dusting your worktop liberally
  • 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp chilled butter cut into small cubes
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 6 tsp milk

Instructions

  • In a medium size bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water.
  • Stir in the milk, egg and sugar. Add the 2 cups flour until the batter gets thick.
  • Beat well with a wooden spoon until smooth, about 100 strokes or use a stand mixer with a dough hook for 2-3 minutes on medium speed.
  • Fold in the oil and salt. Next add remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and mix until the dough starts to come together.
  • Add the cinnamon to the dough and mix in.
  • Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and Knead the dough for about 5 minutes ending with a ball shape.
  • Transfer to a bowl which has been greased with a tablespoon of olive oil.
  • Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
  • Prepare a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan by rubbing the inside with butter, set aside.
  • After 30 minutes, punch the dough down and cut it roughly into 8 even pieces. 
  • Toss each piece into the brown sugar then roll them into balls.
  • Place the balls into the prepared baking pan making sure they are close together.
  •  Sprinkle any leftover brown sugar over the dough balls 
  • Using your fingers, crumble the chilled butter and the 1/4 cup flour together until you end up with small nuggets of buttery flour.
  • Sprinkle the buttery chunks over the top of the dough. Cover and let rise again for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until the top is a rich golden brown. Let rest for 10 minutes.
  • Whisk the powdered sugar and milk together until smooth. Drizzle all over the warm bread.
  • Slice and serve warm.

Notes

This is a very sticky, loose dough. You have to work fast and handle it as little as possible. It’s a very rustic bread so don’t worry too much about it looking like a perfect loaf shape.
Rising times may differ due to different environments. Hot places are always better to let breads rise, like laundry rooms, stove tops with the oven turned on or direct sunlight.
From the Tassajara Bread Book