Cinnamon Friendship Bread
I always remember this bread showing up around the holidays. Somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a gallon Ziploc bag with a little gray mush inside would manifest on our kitchen counter. I’d think to myself, “Why hasn’t mom thrown this out yet?” It was a starter for cinnamon friendship bread! Or, as we called it in our house, “Amish bread.” Every slice was a piece of soft, dense, melt-in-your-mouth-cinnamon-y heaven. This recipe is the same one that came with those starter bags when I was a kid.
Are you a non-starter?
Me too. I was so thankful that this recipe (printed from a website in 2001!) had instructions for making this bread with a starter as well as without one. Because at the time I was making this, my cinnamon cravings were off the charts and there was no way I was waiting a week.
By the time this batter is all put together, it’s a pretty large quantity, enough for 2 standard sized loaves. It may seem like a lot, but this cinnamon friendship bread freezes very well.
Heavy Metal
There are some people who swear off of metal bowls and utensils for recipes like this. In reality, as long as you aren’t letting the batter sit in a metal bowl for hours on end, there won’t be an issue. Just make sure the loaf pans are prepared before you start making the batter, like you normally would.
Whenever I make a chocolate cake, I’ll use cocoa powder to dust the insides of the pans before I add the batter for an extra hit of chocolate. The same principle applies here with the cinnamon sugar. It lines the loaf pans AND gets sprinkled on top for the BEST crunch.
This cinnamon friendship bread comes together easily in one bowl, and makes the kitchen smell like absolute heaven as it bakes. (Plus hours afterwards, too!)
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Cinnamon Friendship Bread
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour + 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 loaves (approx. 20 slices) 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft, fluffy and bursting with flavor, this sweet bread comes together quickly and is loaded with sweet cinnamon flavor
Ingredients
For preparing the loaf pans and topping:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 TB cinnamon
For the bread:
- 3 cups all purpose flour, divided
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
- 1 cup hot water (as hot as it comes out of the tap)
- 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (instant can also be used)
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 5.9 oz instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease the loaf pans well, and mix together the cinnamon/sugar measurement for the loaf pans. Coat the greased pans with the cinnamon sugar mixture, saving any excess that you tap out for the topping. Set prepared pans aside.
- In a very large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, ½ cup of the sugar, all of the warm water and yeast. Mix until smooth. Add the remaining measurements of flour and sugar, along with the cinnamon, baking powder, salt, baking soda, vanilla pudding mix, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, eggs and whole milk. Mix well. The batter will be very thick, but still pourable.
- Divide the batter between the two loaf pans and sprinkle the tops with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture that was used to dust the pans, and bake for one hour. After baking, remove the loaves from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before slicing, about 6 hours or overnight. Loaves may be tightly wrapped and stored at room temperature for a week, and refrigerated for closer to 2 weeks. Freeze loaves indefinitely.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 392
- Sugar: 54.2 g
- Sodium: 525.8 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 9.3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 69.4 g
- Fiber: 0.9 g
- Protein: 3.3 g
- Cholesterol: 28 mg
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