This Amish Cinnamon Bread Recipe makes a moist, fragrant cinnamon quick bread that's perfect for snacking and for gifting. The sweet bread is topped with a crunchy cinnamon-sugar crust.
Why you'll love this recipe
There are three main types of cinnamon bread. Yeasted cinnamon bread has a fluffy texture and requires resting time before baking for the yeast to grow and create rise. Some yeast bread recipes require kneeding as well.
Amish Friendship Bread is a cinnamon bread that requires a starter (like sourdough starter) made with flour, milk, sugar, yeast. The starter is fermented, often for 10 days, before using.
This easy cinnamon bread is a quick bread that's easy to make at a moments notice, with no time for rising and no special ingredients!
By using vegetable oil, instead of butter, this loaf is exceptionally moist and stays fresh longer than quick breads made with butter.
To help produce an evenly baked loaf with a lovely domed top, unlike most baking recipes which use a preheated oven, this recipe starts with a cold oven. This gives the batter time to heat slowly so that the crust doesn't harden before the inside of the loaf has time to bake thoroughly.
You can read more about the baking advantages of starting with a cold oven on the King Arthur Flour website.
Fill your kitchen with the intoxicating aroma of cinnamon spice as you bake this Amish sweet bread for yourself and to share. Baked in a full sized loaf pan or as mini loaves, this delicious treat is wonderful for a quick breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Ingredients
Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Spray 6 mini loaf pans (or 2 full size loaf pans) with nonstick spray, line with parchment paper, and spray again.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vegetable oil,and vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined and no dry flour remains.
- Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Sprinkle the top of the batter evenly with a cinnamon sugar mixture. Use a butter knife dipped in in melted butter to score the top of each loaf.
- Place the pans in a unheated oven. Bake at 350 degrees F until a toothpick tester inserted in the center comes out clean (a few dry drumbs are fine).
Storage
When completely cool, wrap the Cinnamon Bread in plastic wrap and store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. For longer storage times, freezing is recommended.
Tips and variations
- Using Vietnamese cinnamon, with it's more intense cinnamon flavor, gives this quick bread the most flavor.
- Use this easy recipe to make 2 full sized (9" x 5") loaves or 6 mini (6" x 3") loaves for gifting.
- Instead of the cinnamon sugar topping, cinnamon loaves can be topped with streusel crumbs or a cinnamon and confectioners sugar icing drizzle.
- Any type of milk including non-dairy options can be used in this recipe.
Frequently asked questions
Vietnamese (Saigon) cinnamon is a species of cassia cinnamon and has a stronger flavor and aroma than other varieties.
Before baking, run a butter knife about 1" deep, down the center of the loaf. To create a wider crack, use a butter knife coated in melted butter.
Over mixing can cause sinking. Mix just until combined. Bake the bread at the center of the oven and be sure to bake completely. Underbaked loaves don't have time for the cell structure to set causing air pockets to collapse.
Unfortunately, you can't put a quick bread back in the oven because the crust will burn before the center is fully baked. Cut out the raw center and use the rest of the loaf to layer with pudding or custard in a trifle.
After the bread has cooled completely, use a serrated knife to cut slices. For the best slicing results, allow the quick bread to rest overnight before slicing.
Related recipes
Cherry Bread is a cake-like bread speckled with glistening maraschino cherries and topped with a pretty, pink, cherry glaze.
Italian Lemon Pound Cake is bursting with citrus flavor. Perfect with a cup of tea.
Ocean Spray Cranberry Orange Bread is a moist, fruity loaf that's delicious for breakfast or afternoon snack.
Orange Olive Oil Cake is made with an easy quick bread recipe and is bursting with orange flavor.
Marble Loaf Cake is made from a simple recipe that creates a delicious swirl of chocolate and caramel. Delicious with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk!
For more sweet bread recipes be sure to see the recipe index for all of our quick breads and loaves.
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Amish Cinnamon Bread Recipe
Equipment
- 2 9" x 5" loaf pans or 6 mini loaf pans
Ingredients
Cinnamon-Sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Quick Bread
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups milk
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Spray 2 loaf pans (or 6 mini loaf pans) with nonstick spray, line with parchment paper, and spray again.
- In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon to make cinnamon-sugar.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vegetable oil,and vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined and no dry flour remains. The batter will be a bit lumpy, not smooth.
- Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans. (about 3 cups per large loaf pan or 1 cup per mini loaf pan)
- Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly over the batter in the pans.
- Use the tip of a butter knife to slice about 1" deep down the length of each loaf starting and stopping about ½" from the side of the pan.
- Place the pans in a unheated oven. Set the oven to 350 degrees F. AFTER the oven reaches 350 degrees add about 40 minutes baking time for large loaves or 30 minutes baking time for mini loaves. Cover with tented aluminum foil if the top of the loaves brown before the baking is complete. Loaves are finished baking when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (a few dry drumbs are fine).
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Run a butter knife along the sides not covered with parchment, then use the parchment overhang to lift the loaves out of the pan. Cool completely on a wire rack before storing.
- When completely cool, wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Wrap loaves in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer weight ziplock bag or plastic storage container.
- The loaves will stay moist longer if shipped uncut.
- For shipping times longer than 5 days, vacuum sealing is recommended.
Nutrition
First Published: October 31, 2012. Last Updated: April 21, 2023. Updated for additional information, improved photos and recipe, and better reader experience.
saltandserenity
This loaf looks so fantastic. Sometimes nothing will satisfy like simple cinnamon and sugar! I just tried the cold oven technique for the first time last month on a marble bundt cake. The cake had a lovely texture and no gummy centre.
In one of the comments above, someone wondered if you could make the loaf without cinnamon chips, but I didn't see cinnamon chips in the recipe. Have you changed the recipe lately?
Wendy Sondov
Thanks, Cindy! I just republished this post with a completely different recipe. The old recipe was a yeast recipe adapted from a King Arthur recipe. I went with a quick bread recipe instead because most of my readers would prefer to save time. Though, I think some cinnamon chips would taste great in this loaf. The cold oven method made such a big difference with this recipe. I'm delighted to have learned about it.