Cinnamon Swirl Brioche

A soft, buttery brioche bread filled with cinnamon sugar.

My mom makes great breakfast toasts. Growing up, I remember there being quite a variety of toast options in my house and there was just something about my mom’s toast that tasted better than all other toasts. Even today, just plain toast with butter tastes so much better when my mom makes it. I think that’s just a mom thing. But hands down, the top two toasts of my childhood were cheese toast and cinnamon toast. Cheese toast is fairly self explanatory- its toast that my mom would top with slices of cheese and slip under the broiler for a few minutes. The edges would crisp and then cheese would get all melty and delicious. For cinnamon toast, my mom would smear the toast with butter and sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar before tucking it into the heat of the oven. There were the extra toasty bites where the sugar had begun to caramelize and the soft squishy bites where the butter completely soaked the toast. It was a work of toast art. 

This is a traditional brioche dough swirled with softened butter and cinnamon sugar, reminiscent of those cinnamon toast mornings of my school years. Brioche is an enriched dough, which means that has sugar, eggs, and butter, all of which add flavor and richness to the dough, but slow down gluten development and yeast production. This means that brioche dough needs a longer mixing time and a longer proofing time than other yeasted doughs. For this, we tuck our dough into the fridge to cold proof for 6-12 hours (or overnight). Cold proofing slows fermentation and gives the butter a chance to re-solidify before shaping so that it doesn’t melt out of the dough when you begin working with it. This also means that you can mix your dough the night before and have freshly baked cinnamon brioche in the morning, which is never a bad thing in my opinion. 

After the dough has been filled, we slice it and braid to, similarly to a babka, mostly because I think it looks pretty and the swirls make sure that there is cinnamon sugar in every bite. After it rises one last time, the dough is baked until golden brown and then brushed with butter. In the words of the great Ina Garten, “How easy is that?”

Yield one 9x5" loaf

Author Anna Ramiz

Prep time

30 Min

Cook time

35 Min

Inactive time

8 Hour

Total time

9 H & 5 M

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Cinnamon Swirl Brioche

A soft, buttery brioche bread filled with cinnamon sugar.

Ingredients

for the brioche

• 125 g whole milk
• 7 g active dry yeast
• 260 g flour
• 30 g sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 65 g butter, at room temperature

for the cinnamon filling

• 113 g (1 stick) butter, soft
• 110 g (1/2 cup) brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Warm milk in the microwave to remove the chill. (Liquid should be between 110-115 degrees to proof yeast which means it should feel warm, but not too hot to the touch.) Add the yeast and a pinch of sugar to the milk. Stir to combine and then let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine flour, sugar, and salt.
3. Slowly add the yeast/milk mixture and mix on medium speed until combined. With the mixture running, add the eggs one at a time. When the eggs are combined, add butter piece by piece ensuring that it is mixed in before adding more. At this point, the dough will be very wet and sticky, that’s ok- just keep mixing!
4. Increase the speed to medium high and continue mixing for about 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth.
5. Place dough into a greased bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
6. When the dough has proofed, punch it down and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Transfer to the refrigerator and allow to cold proof for 6-12 hours.
7. Take the brioche dough from the refrigerator and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15-20 minutes, just to take the chill off. While the dough is resting, make the cinnamon filling.
8. In a medium bowl, mix together all of the cinnamon filling ingredients until smooth and combined. Set aside.
9. Turn brioche dough out onto a clean surface. (The dough should not stick, but I always like to keep a small bowl of flour next to me as insurance in case the dough starts being temperamental). Roll the dough to a large rectangle, about 9x18 inches in size.
10. Use an small offset spatula (or a spoon) to spread the cinnamon filling over the surface of the rectangle, leaving about a 1/2 inch at the edges.
11. Beginning with the short side, roll brioche tightly to create a log. Trim 1” off of the ends of the log. Slice the long in half lengthwise, leaving the top 2 inches unsliced. At this point, you should have one piece of dough with two “legs”. The pieces should be facing up so that the layers of filling are visible. Begin to twist the two pieces over and under each other, to create something that resembles a braid. Pinch the ends and then place the braid in a greased loaf pan.
12. Cover the brioche with a towel and let rise again, about an hour, until it has almost doubled in size.
13. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Brush with melted butter and let cool in the pan 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to complete cooling before slicing and serving.

Notes

This recipe is so versatile--feel free to add nuts or spices to the cinnamon filling. You can also wrap the baked bread tightly in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for a later date.

Similar Recipes

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Mediterranean Month: Homemade Pitas

I have always liked the idea of pita, it’s bread with a convenient little pocket that you get to stuff with anything your heart can imagine, but in actuality, for a long time pita was never even made the top 10 of my favorite styles of bread. This is because grocery store pita is, in my opinion, simply disappointing. I have purchased that pack of on-sale pita from the deli rack many times, full of excitement and with a list of well-meaning intentions a mile long that vanish as soon as I get home and untwist the little wire holding the bag closed.  Grocery store pita bread is dry. Desert-island dry. And when you try to pry open that much anticipated little pocket, the bread tears and breaks leaving you with no pocket to fill and flimsy shards of pita to contend with.

These pitas are not at all like those grocery store-style pitas. They are soft and fluffy, moist and chewy and there are no flimsy pita shards that fall off when you try to open them. They also keep well for a few days, freeze excellently, and are not very labor intensive or difficult to make. The key to making a good pita is giving it enough resting time for the gluten to get used to its new size, so that it has the ability to puff up when you bake it. To make these pitas, you just mix together your dough and then give it an hour to an hour and a half to proof and double in size. Then, you punch it down, divide your dough into equal pieces, and shape those pieces into little pita spheres. Let them rest about ten minutes before you roll them into their final pita shape. After you have your final discs, it is super important to let them rest about 30 minutes (covered with plastic wrap because we do not want them drying out) before baking them off. The pitas bake in batches of 4, depending on the size of your cookie sheet and oven, and only take about 7-9 minutes to bake. 

A little effort goes a long way here and once you try your hand at home-made pitas, you’ll never be able to go back to those grocery store “pitas” again. 

Homemade Pita Bread

Yield: 8 pitas

Ingredients: 

1 cup water

2 tsp active dry yeast

Pinch of sugar 

2 1/2-3 cups of flour, plus more for dusting 

2 tsp salt 

1 tbsp olive oil 

Procedure: 

1. Heat water to 110-115 degrees, add the sugar and yeast and then set aside to let yeast hydrate. After about 2 minutes, you can stir the yeast into the water and then let it sit for another 3-4 minutes, until it starts to create a foam at the top of the water. 

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, toss together 2 1/2 cups of flour and salt. Add the olive oil and yeast mixer and mix on medium-speed with a dough hook until everything is combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue to mix for 5-7 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add the last 1/2 cup of flour in tablespoon increments if the dough seems wet —you may not use all of the flour. You are looking for a smooth, slightly tacky dough with full gluten development. 

3. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and let proof for 1-1/2 hours, until doubled in size. 

4. When dough has proofed, turn out onto a well-floured work surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape each piece into a smooth ball. *It is important to keep your dough balls covered with a piece of plastic wrap as you roll so that they don’t develop a skin because of air exposure.* Let your dough balls rest, covered, for about 10 minutes. 

5. While the dough rests, prepare a large cookie sheet by dusting it with flour. 

6. After they have rested, begin rolling each dough ball into a circle 6-7 inches wide, turning and moving the dough as you roll. If the dough starts to stick, add a little more flour to your rolling pin our work surface. As you roll out each circle, place it on the floured cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap. 

7. When all of the dough has been rolled out, let your dough circles rest, covered with plastic wrap, for 30 minutes. 

8. While the dough is resting, place a cookie sheet, upside in your oven and preheat your oven (and the pan) to 450 degrees. 

9. When the dough is rested and the oven and pan are preheated, carefully and quickly place 4 pitas (or however many you can fit) on the bottom side of your hot pan. Close the oven door quickly and bake pitas for 5-8 minutes, until they have puffed and are beginning to lightly brown on the bottoms. 

10. Transfer baked pitas to a plate or towel to cool and repeat baking process with the final 4 pitas. 

11. Let pitas cool before eating. Serve with hummus, tzatziki, stuff with falafel, or just eat them plain! 

Note: Pitas are a temperamental bunch and no matter how many times I have made them, some pitas will puff and some will not. Allowing your pitas that 30 minute resting period will increase your puff likelihood so that is an important step! Don’t fret though, because even if your pita doesn’t puff, you should still be able to split open the pockets and it will still taste delicious. 

Mediterranean Month: Baklava

Our family discovered Disney World the first year that we moved to Florida. I was young enough that I don’t even think I knew Disney was a place before moving to the Sunshine State, but that all changed very quickly. For the first few years after moving, we thoroughly embraced the Florida resident lifestyle, got annual passes, and spent all of our free long weekends at the parks. 

The rides and the characters were cool, but my favorite part of Mickey Mouse’s home was late afternoon Epcot wandering. With a history teacher for a mother, we would inevitably end up at Epcot and often, my dad and sister would go back to the hotel for a few hours in the afternoon to rest and recharge before returning to the Disney night scene. During those, often rainy (because…Florida), afternoons, my mom and I would eat our way around the World Showcase. A bite of gelato in Italy, an eggroll in China, an apple danish in Norway, but the highlight of the afternoon- baklava in Morocco. There was something about that sticky, nut filled pastry that spoke to my heart and ever since then, good baklava transports me right back to those 90 degree afternoons spent wandering around the world with my mom. 

I will not lie to you, baklava is a labor of love. But I will also tell you that is worth every ounce of that labor. Making baklava is not a difficult or challenging process, but it is a process none the less. Layering each piece of filo takes time (hint: it moves quicker if you find a friend to help you), but when you bite into your baklava and all of those little layers begin to flake apart, you will be glad you did it. 

Baklava

Ingredients:

For the syrup: 

1 cup sugar

1 cup honey

1 cup water

1 T lemon juice

Orange peel 

Lemon peel

For the filling: 

About 1 lb nuts (I used 8 oz pistachios and 8 oz walnuts), coarsely chopped

4 T sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

3 T melted butter

1 lb unsalted butter (clarified)

1 16 oz package filo dough, thawed

Procedure:

1. Thaw filo dough and remove from the package. It is important to keep the pastry covered so that it doesn’t dry out. Right before you begin assembly, unroll filo sheets onto a large sheet pan and cover with a damp towel and a layer of plastic wrap. (Don’t let the filo set out unwrapped too long before you begin working with it!)

2. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, honey, and stir together to begin dissolving sugar. Add lemon juice, orange peel, and lemon peel and bring syrup to a simmer over medium heat. Let syrup simmer for about 20 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool while you assemble the baklava. 

3. While the syrup is simmering, clarify the butter. To clarify butter, place it in a small saucepan over medium heat. As the butter begins to melt, the milk solids will float to the top and you can use a spoon to scrape them off so you are just left with clear butter. It is not necessary to be a perfectionist about this and get all of the milk solids out. When researching, many recipes don’t even clarify the butter, just melt it, so just get as much as you can. 

4. To prepare the filling, place nuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Pour nuts into a large bowl and add sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, and melted butter. Toss together and set aside. 

5. To assemble the baklava: brush the bottom of a 9x13 pan with a light coat of clarified butter. Place one sheet of filo dough on the bottom of the pan and brush with butter. Repeat layering filo dough until you have 8 pieces stacked, brushing each with butter before adding the next. After 8 sheets of filo, spread 1/3 of the nut mixture evenly over dough. Top with another 8 sheets of filo, each brushed with butter. After the second set of filo, sprinkle another 1/3 of the nut mixture over the dough. Add another set of 8 sheets, each brushed with butter, and then spread the remaining nut mixture over the dough. Top the final nut layer with 8 more sheets of filo, each brushed with butter, making sure to brush the eighth and final filo sheet with butter. 

6. Before baking, use a very sharp knife to cut the pastry into squares or diamonds. If your knife is sharp and your cuts are firm, the pastry should easily cut into pieces.

7. Bake the pastry in a 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Remove from oven. 

8. Right when the pastry comes out of the oven, pour your cooled syrup over the entire pastry making sure that some of the syrup gets in all the corners and crevices. Let the baklava cool completely and then refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight. 

Notes: If you want to, you can trim the filo dough sheets to fit the size of the pan that you are using. The package of filo that I bought contained 9x14 pieces so I opted not to trim them down and I just folded the extra inch over onto itself to fit the pan.