Behold!.... The Cinnamon Bread

I've been enjoying baking bread now for awhile. It's fun & easy, it makes the house smell heavenly when it's baking, and the boys LOVE IT....what more can a mama ask for?!, and it's TOTALLY YUMMY! Lately, I've been making CINNAMON Bread & it's really been a hit. I'm using Pioneer Woman's recipe.
Here's a my cinnamon bread... beginning to end.

Ingredients are pretty basic & simple. (Not all are pictured.) Milk, butter, sugar, eggs, yeast, salt & flour. The one element I've added - a mixture of regular white sugar & some granulated brown sugar. This added a little different element that we really like.

(I've skipped a few steps/photos, but Pioneer Woman.com has the recipe.)

Add enough flour to mixture until it comes together & then let the mixer knead it.


Add more flour as needed...







Now, just for fun, do a little kneading by hand... the old fashioned way, to bring it to the right texture.


When it's nice & smooth, it's time to let it rise. Plop it into an oiled bowl & put into a warm place...like the oven. This will take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.






Now the dough should have doubled in size.


Roll it out onto a counter, baking sheet or whatever workspace you have.


Pour melted butter on it.


Then sprinkle cinnamon sugar all over.



The next step can be messy...roll the dough towards you, sealing the butter-sugar-cinnamon inside.



The most difficult step for me - getting the rolled up dough into the baking pan.

Put into the oven to rise again for about an hour.




After the 2nd rise - it's ALMOST time to bake! The dough should again be doubled in size.

Brush the top with an egg/milk wash.



Isn't this pretty!?!



Bake the bread for about 40 minutes. (If the top is getting too dark, put aluminum foil on top to shield it.) Bread is done when the inside temperature is 200 degrees.

Enjoy the WONDERFUL scent of the bread baking. It's absolutely mouth watering!

Set aside to cool.




Even though it tempting to slice into immediately, I've learned it's better wait until it's cooled...or else it will fall apart like this loaf from a couple weeks ago. Oh well...it still tasted WONDERFUL!

Behold, the bread...almost makes it worth getting out of a warm cozy bed to have some freshly toasted!