Iced Cinnamon Raisin Bread. Wowza!
Before I went to Pennsylvania to visit my friend Zoë and her mom Valerie, I spent some time with my friend Jennifer’s mom Shirley. Last fall Shirley sent me an email asking if I would give her some rug hooking lessons.
She bakes. Really well. So of course I said yes.
Plus, she has what I would consider the coziest house on the planet {complete with wood stove, white walls, heavy doors, fat trim work and the most amazing wood floors you’ve ever seen}.
Her house makes me drool. Seriously, I need to make a special trip there with the HH so I can give him a tour of the place and say “Build this. This is the house I want to live in for the rest of my life.”
Shirley even stores squash and sweet potatoes under her bed. Seriously, how can you not love a house with squash hiding under the bed?
Yada, yada, yada.
We popped a couple of pills, downed a bottle of whiskey and hooked rugs until the wee hours of the morning when the cops finally showed up and told us to keep it down because we were howling at the moon.
I’m kidding. We had a good time. I taught her how to hook, and she made 6 delicious loaves of the best cinnamon raisin bread on the planet. As her guest, I graciously gobbled up ate every slice offered to me. It was a tough job, but someone had to do it. 😉
~ Mavis
Update: I made a batch of Shirley’s cinnamon raisin bread last week and let me tell you friends, it’s worth your time. This recipe is a winner! More more delicious recipes, check out my recipe page.
Shirley’s Iced Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Description
Seriously, you need to find some raisins and make this bread. It will change your life.
Ingredients
Bread
- 1 medium potato (peeled and chopped {I used a red potato. but any potato will do})
- 4 cups water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 cup sugar
- 11–12 cups bread flour {I used King Arthur}
- 16 ounces raisins
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
Frosting
- 3½ cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1/2 cup stick butter (softened)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2–3 tablespoon of milk {I used 2%}
Instructions
- Put the chopped potato and the 4 cups of water in a saucepan and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Drain, reserving the liquid in a bowl. Mash the potatoes with the butter and salt, add the reserved liquid and set aside.
- Place the yeast in 1 cup of warm water and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- In a very large large bowl, stir together 6 cups of bread flour, sugar and the potato/water mixture. When the mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add the yeast. Stir until nice and smooth. Cover and rest for two hours. I mean, let the bread rest for two hours.
- Mix the spices and remaining flour {5-6 cups, it really just depends on how much you need to make a nice, soft dough}. Add the raisins and then turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth.
- Place the dough back in the unwashed bowl and cover. Let rise until double.
- Shape into loaves and place in greased pans {the recipe made four medium loaves for me, six smaller loaves for Shirley}. Let the dough rise again, covered, until doubled in size.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Cool.
- While the bread is baking, pull out your mixer and beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together, adding milk as needed {you want the icing to be nice and thick}.
- Once the bread has cooled, top the loaves with icing and let it set.
Notes
To serve, slice the cinnamon raisin bread, pop it in the toaster {icing to the sky} and toast. Spread a little butter on the toasted goodness and serve warm. Freeze any loaves you don’t plan to use in 3-4 days.
Jillbert says
I am totally making this tomorrow! It looks sooooo good.
HELEN says
Now 8 years after your post, where have I been before finding this gem. Thank you all for opening my eyes.
Haven’t had iced raisin bread in like forever. I’m so excited to make it.
I have a quick question, maybe 2.
Can this bread be frozen?
And do I put the icing on the bread and then freeze it?
Thanks a million, going in my recipe box.
Sincerely Helen
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Helen,
I freeze my loaves iced. So does Shirley! 🙂
Helen says
Thank you so much for getting back to me.
May I ask another question.
I’m writing my recipe now, I’m at the part where in a large bowl stir together 6C bread flour, sugar, potatoes/reserved starchy waterstir until nice and smooth, cover and let rest 2 hours,
Do I let the dough rest 2 hours at this point., before adding the rest of the flour?
And then when you form your loaves you let it rest Gain for 2 hours?
Thank You
Share smithwick says
Did you ever get a reply? Id like to make the bread but the instructions after the 6cups and before the 5cups is unclear.
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes.
Just follow the recipe step by step and you will be fine. Sometimes people overthink things.
Just follow the recipe step by step. 🙂
Peg says
What size pans did you use for the bread?
Sue R. says
I’ve been waiting for this post! Thanks!
Amanda says
Thank you!!!! I am now prepared to carb load for the rest of 2016!
Amanda says
I think i just spent the first two hours at my office reading Jennifer’s Blog! I better get to work 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
Ha! Get to work Amanda. 🙂
Jennifer says
Holy goodness! I just perused Jennifer’s blog because Amanda apparently loved it. I had to tear myself away after 5 minutes because i think i forgot to blink the whole time! Such great photos! I am hoping to coax her out of her ginger cookies recipe (jar of creme-filled ring cookies). And thank you for the raisin bread recipe. It will be part of our Breakfast for Dinner (BFD) tonight.
sk says
Mavis, you’re funny!
Marcia says
Gah! Of course this is a PA recipe, it makes a ton! I was just chatting with my stepdad last night, thinking I’d like to make my mom’s cinnamon rolls. Which I’ve never made. I’m not even sure she had a recipe. So I went into our cookbook for the local church, and found a few. They all call for 7+ cups flour.
I only have two bread pans, I need smaller recipes!!
Judie says
With bread recipes, you can pretty much reduce the amount of liquid. The result is you use less dry ingredients and control the net volume. The bread will turn out fine. I have been making bread for many years and this is the way to make smaller batches. If you cut the liquid by half, do the same with all the other ingredients.
ann in E. oregon says
Thank you sooooo much for sharing this recipe!! I can’t wait to make it and share it!! 🙂
elizabeth says
Does the icing melt off into the toaster?
elizabeth says
Those look like nice bread pans that Shirley uses, do you know what brand they are?
I will need to invest in more pans to make the full recipe.
Jeanine says
Your post had me smiling. Thankyou for sharing the recipe and memory of this visit; especially enjoyed the pics. Are you willing to share the brand of pans? They look larger than what I use. Looking forward to the scent wafting through my home.
Debbie N says
I saved a copy of this. I really want to try it but I only have two bread pans. I will be looking for bread pans at garage sales. I hope I get lucky and find some.This recipe just looks so good!
Jennifer says
I just made a 1/4 recipe (1 loaf) just now. Verdict: so perfect!!! I probably under-rose the loaf at the end, and even slightly under-cooked it. Oops. In fact, I didn’t even smear the icing on it before our breakfast-for-dinner (we did smear the slices though). And it was still good. Caveats: I used 2T butter in the one loaf (would be 1/2c butter for the full recipe) because I think the original recipe on Jennifer’s website said so, and I used AP flour. After the second rise, to make a loaf shape, I pressed the dough into a flat 12″ square on a floured mat and sprinkled it with cinnamon and brown sugar befor rolling it up, pushing it a bit shorter, and putting it in the loaf pan. So mine had a cinnamon swirl to it. Worked great. Later I toasted a slice and buttered it. THAT was heaven. Will do again this weekend.
margie says
I used 2T butter for the entire recipe. I understood the 1/2 cup of butter was to frost it. Oh well, they’re in the oven now…too late.
Elizabeth says
Could you please clarify the amount of butter and when it is used? The Pinterest front page says 34 Tablespoons!
Nan says
Prepping now. Can you share what you figured out about the butter amounts please? I’m already confused! 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
There are 2 lists of ingredients, 1 for the bread, and 1 for the butter.
For the bread:
Put the chopped potato and the 4 cups of water in a saucepan and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Drain, reserving the liquid in a bowl. Mash the potatoes with the 2 tablespoons of butter and salt, add the reserved liquid and set aside.
For the frosting: While the bread is baking, pull out your mixer and beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together, adding milk as needed {you want the icing to be nice and thick}.
Amy says
Thanks for the info! I want to make a single loaf too and wondered if it would work out ok, also love your idea of rolling it up with cinnamon sugar–I bet it would make great cinnamon rolls too! Can’t wait to try it!
Gerald says
I have several different bread pans, 9×5, 8×3, 9″ Pullman and mini loaf pans. Which do you consider a small loaf pan?
Christy says
I made this today and OH!! Is it good. It made 4 loaves in Pyrex glass bread pans. I made 2 with raisins (a mix of regular, golden, and chopped dried apple, because I didn’t have many raisins left.) The other two are without raisins for my daughters who don’t like raisins. One of the best bread recipes I’ve tried. Thanks!
Amanda says
I made it this weekend and it turned out perfect. I think I ate one loaf by myself 🙂 Thank you again for sharing it!
Mavis Butterfield says
Oh good, I’m glad you liked it Amanda. It’s delicious.
Linda says
Can you post quantities for just 1 loaf??
Mavis Butterfield says
I have halved the recipe before and only made 3 loaves and it turned out great. I wrap and then freeze the extra loaves and typically use them up within 60 days or so and they taste great. 😉
Carol says
Do you frost before freezing or once you get it out of the freezer?
Mavis Butterfield says
I frost mine before freezing.
kristine says
does it had a video or youtube in making this?thank you!
Mavis Butterfield says
I don’t sorry.
Danielle says
Making this recipie now. I cut it in half so hopefully it comes out ok… only my second time making dough of any kind. Looks amazing and I know my family will love it.
Michele says
My dough was very wet is that right? One loaf fell just putting it in the oven. Waiting for them to cool so I can see after slicing them. I will rate them after that.
Julie P says
How many loaves should this amount make, I want to make one. Please and thanks
Julie P says
Sorry just noticed a similar comment previously, so I’m assuming six small loaves.
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes, this recipe makes 6 loaves. I am going to try and cut the recipe down to 2 loaves and then I will post the new recipe.
Veronica says
This looks really good. I have 1 question, could I use a stand mixer to knead the dough instead of my hands as my hands are very weak (arthritis) . If possible would you know for how long the machine should run? Thank you.
Marie Holfeltz says
The average time for “kneading” in a stand mixer is 6 m8nutes.
Betty says
What size pans are you using
Things like this is very important in a recipe
Mavis Butterfield says
Shirley used standard 9×5 loaf pans.
Mo says
Definitely a keeper thank you for sharing .
Brenda says
Baking my 3rd batch of this marvelous bread for a family adventure this weekend . I will be doing 1 without raisins but I’m going to have to try the cinnamon swirl like Jennifer did.
Thank you for the BEST recipe.
Mavis Butterfield says
I LOVE this recipe too!
Nancy Mcleary says
I am going to make this this tomorrow.
How much butter goes into the bread recipe? M a little confused??
Melanie says
Why the potatoes and potato water?
Joya says
That’s what I wanna know, and how mashed do they need to be? Like mashed potatoes or just kinda enough so that they aren’t whole any longer, lol. I don’t usually ask questions, I write my own recipes, lol! But this particular one sounded so amazing but was thrown off by the potatoes and I didn’t want to waste any food. Thanks!!
Mavis Butterfield says
Like mashed potatoes. 🙂
Rebecca says
Hi I halved the recipe and it seemed very dry ……..?… the first dough would only take about 1/3 rd of the second lot of dry ….????
What did I do wrong ?.
Mavis Butterfield says
I’m sorry you are having trouble Rebecca, I’ve halved this recipe many times and the bread always turned out great. It’s not a simple recipe and there are a lot of steps. I wish I could help.
Carol says
Third time making this recipe, I’m addicted!!! I’ve followed the recipe using 2 Tablespoons of butter. Has always turned out amazing!!! Have included raisins, left them out, rolled up the dough with cinnamon sugar before baking. I believe next time I’m going to turn some of it into cinnamon rolls. FYI, I’ve consistenly made 4-9×5 loafs. Thank you for sharing!!!
Dorothy says
can this recipe be halved please reply to my email not great with the computer thank you
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes.
Donna says
This bread is incredible! It’s a little time consuming..not the actual recipe, but the time needed for all the rising, so start early in the day. I made the full batch…if I’m going to go to all that work..why just make 1 or 2? Mine made 4 standard size loaves. We had it this morning for breakfast, and it was spectacular! I wrapped the other 3 loaves and froze them…can’t wait to have it again! Your directions were spot on and perfect! I make a lot of bread, and this bread is perfect…texture, taste…everything about is A+! Thank you for sharing!
Sandy S. says
Looks delicious. Has anyone tried this recipe in a bread machine?
Bette says
If you are rolling out and adding the sugar and cinnamon, do you not add sugar and cinnamon to the dough? Want to make this as it sounds delicious but don’t want it to be too sweet. Thank you for your help.
Bette says
Do you add all the sugar and cinnamon to the bread if you are rolling it out to make the swirl?
Nancy says
I’m going to surprise a lady in our coffee group with a loaf! She always talks about the cinnamon raisin bread she use to get at a bakery that closed! So I’ve been looking for a good recipe and I believe I found it! I’ll let you know how it goes!
Thank you
Nancy
Mavis Butterfield says
It’s a delicious recipe Nancy. 🙂 I hope everyone enjoys it as much as we do.
Adrienne says
1. In step 5, approx how long do you estimate for the dough to double?
2. I plan to use aluminum bread pans. Would they impact the baking time/temp?
Thanks!
Mavis Butterfield says
It usually takes dough about 1 hour to double… but sometimes 2 hours if your kitchen is chilly.
I baked my bread in heavy duty aluminum pans, but maybe you mean aluminum foil pans? I have never cooked this type of bread in an aluminum foil pan so I don’t know how it the time would be impacted.
Jules says
After adding all of the flour, my dough was still wet. I didn’t want to add too much flour because it would make it too dense. I did all of the rise time and mine fell right when I was putting the pans in the oven. My loaves are not high like yours. They are flat like a non yeast bread. Taste okay. Will have to try again.
Sharon says
What brand of flour did you use? Did you use a bread flour or regular? I love the King Arthur bread flour. It’s a little more expensive but so worth it. KA builds gluten beautifully and you don’t have to add a ton of extra flour to get the texture you want. Also, I feel more confident with the amount of flour I add if I use a weight scale rather than a measuring cup. It is more accurate. On the King Arthur bread flour package it shows that 1 cup flour = 120 grams. It really helps take the guess work out of baking and gives a more consistent bake. PS- I don’t work for KA…I just love their product. 🙂
Jennifer says
Can I use a sweet potato?
Debra Fails says
I just made this bread. It made 4 standard loaves. I felt that the taste of cloves was overwhelming. Next time I will leave the cloves out and perhaps add more cinnamon. I also added brown sugar and rolled the loaves as one reader had suggested. I did not ice the loaves as they don’t really need it. Thanks for posting this recipe!
Andie says
Hello. I only have 4 bread pans. I saw that another baker commented this only made 4 standard loaves.
Do you know hope to reduce for 4 loaves?
Andie says
Sorry! I got confused reading online with all the ads in the way. lol! Once i printed the recipe i saw it was just 4 loaves. Just seemed like a huge amount of flour.
Sharon says
I love this recipe! These old recipes are precious. It does take an investment of time but oh, it is so worth it! This is the best raisin bread recipe I’ve ever found. I didn’t make the frosting. I think it is perfect without. I’m sure it’s super yummy and rich when you do frost it. Thank you for sharing!
Lena says
Hi! This recipe looks so good! I have a question… I’m not familiar with the technique of adding half of the flour later… is there a particular reason why that is done? Hoping to try this soon! Thanks!
Jen says
Looking forward to making this recipe!! May I ask, what kind of yeast do you use? Instant, rapid rise….?
Sandy says
Why the potatoes? What purpose do they serve in the recipe? Also, can all purpose flour be substituted for bread flour?
JulieP says
Mavis do you freeze this with the icing or before you ice it?
Mavis Butterfield says
I freeze it with the icing, just like Shirley does.