Linda's Giant Cinnamon Roll
Submitted by thebesternie
Linda’s giant cinnamon roll is a clever bread machine loaf shaped into one spiraled loaf with cinnamon-sugar, raisins and pecans rolled through every turn. A lazy baker’s answer to weekend cinnamon rolls.
YIELD
1 large rollPREP
2 hrsCOOK
40 minREADY
3 hrsThis is a genuinely clever take on the weekend cinnamon roll, engineered for the bread machine so you skip kneading entirely. The machine handles the first rise, then you pull the dough out, roll it in a mound of cinnamon sugar, and spiral it back into the pan as one giant coiled loaf that rises and bakes on its own schedule.
The snake-and-spiral technique is the best part. The dough gets stretched into a long rope, worked through cinnamon-sugar, studded with raisins and pecans, then curled back into the pan like a giant snail shell. Every slice shows layers of cinnamon running through the crumb, no proper pastry roll-and-slice technique required.
Set your crust control to light, the cinnamon sugar can catch and darken fast during the bake. A slightly stickier than normal dough is what you want, it stretches and holds the cinnamon without tearing.
Tuck the end of the spiral firmly underneath before closing the machine, unsecured ends pop up during the second rise.
Pro Tips
- Remove the paddle before shaping, that’s the one trick that gives you a nearly seamless loaf without the tell-tale paddle hole
- Use fresh, fragrant cinnamon, old dusty jars have lost most of their punch and the cinnamon flavor is the whole point here
- Soak the raisins in warm water or rum for ten minutes before using, hydrated raisins won’t steal moisture from the dough
- Work quickly when shaping, a cold lump of dough is much harder to stretch than warm, freshly-risen dough
- Let the loaf cool for 15 minutes before slicing, hot bread tears instead of slicing cleanly
Variations
- Drizzle with a simple powdered sugar glaze for a gift-worthy finish
- Swap pecans for toasted walnuts or almonds
- Add a pinch of cardamom or ginger to the cinnamon sugar for a Scandinavian lean
Ingredients
Directions
Put ingredients in pan in order given. Set crust control to light and set machine on regular cycle. Press start. Keep an eye on the doughball and have the dough just a little stickier than usual but not so wet that it doesn’t hold its shape. Prepare a bread board by sprinkling it with a a mixture of cinnamon and sugar (I used cinnamon maple sprinkle available from Sam’s Club) using about ¼ cup in all of the cinnamon mixture.
Have on hand ¼ cup of raisins and (if you like) ¼ cup pecans. When the machine reaches the end of the first rise, remove the bread pan from the machine and close the lid. Take the dough from the pan and remove the paddle. (I finish the bread in a Zoji Finnish pan but removing the blade will get rid of MOST of the hole!) Roll the dough in the cinnamon mixture, stretching and elongating it (remember the snakes you used to make with PlayDoh? This is much the same!) until its’ about 1½ inches thick and quite long.
Keep working the cinnamon mixture into all of your bread snake. Now begins the fun part! Spiral the snake; back into the bread pan (if you don’t have a spare pan or a Finnish pan you’ll need to have washed your regular pan to remove the bits of dough that may have clung to the sides) and sprinkle the nuts and raisins in as you create a spiral loaf of bread. Tuck the tail end back into the bread at the top or it’ll come springing out when the dough starts baking!
This doesn’t take as long as you think--the bread’s back into the machine in plenty of time for it to rise before the bake cycle starts. The result is a lovely light cinnamon loaf that’s great either sliced or pulled apart to eat. You COULD add a sugar glaze for a gift loaf but we find its’ delicious without a glaze or even butter. Enjoy!
Comments
This is the best recipe I have made with my bread machine so far... I think I might try doing it more like monkey bread next time and do balls rolled in the sugar mixture instead of a snake...