This cinnamon wreath bread is a soft, slightly sweet yeast bread, twisted into a beautiful wreath and filled with cinnamon sugar. It looks like bakery bread, but it's made with simple ingredients and clear steps. Perfect for breakfast, brunch or coffee time.
At a glance
⏲️ Prep (active): ± 20 min • ⏲️ Rise time: about 3 hours • 🔥 Bake time: 30 min • 🍽️ Yield: 8 pieces
🥄 Calories: 346 kcal per slice (approx.)
⭐ Difficulty: medium (yeast dough, but well guided)
🥖 Main ingredients: flour, milk, butter, sugar, egg, cinnamon, yeast
Jump to:
Easy Cinnamon Wreath Bread for Breakfast or Brunch
This is the kind of bread that makes the whole house smell like "weekend." While the dough is rising on the counter, the kitchen is quiet for a bit and then there's that moment where you roll, slice and twist the dough, and suddenly it looks like something from a bakery window.
When you bring the warm cinnamon wreath to the table and slice off the first piece, the cinnamon sugar swirl peeks through. Everyone pulls off soft strips of bread, still slightly warm, with just the right amount of sweetness. Butter, coffee, a little chaos around the table and you've got yourself a perfect morning.
And if you're looking for more breakfast inspiration? Take an eye on my sweet pull-apart Christmas tree buns (perfect for Christmas morning) or a traditional Dutch Christmas bread with almond stuffing. These recipes, as well as plenty of others, can be found at my sweet breakfast and brunch recipes. Take a look for even more inspiration.
Why this works
- Soft enriched dough: Milk, butter and egg make the bread soft and tender instead of dry.
- Showstopper shape: The twist and wreath shape looks impressive, but the technique is simple once you've done it once.
- Cinnamon sugar filling: The sugar and cinnamon melt into little pockets in the dough. Every slice has flavor.
- Flexible timing: You can let the dough rise a bit longer if the kitchen is cool; the recipe is forgiving.
- Versatile serving: Breakfast, brunch, coffee, dessert… this bread works any time of day.
What You'll Need
Exact amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Milk: Lukewarm, to activate the yeast and enrich the dough.
- Instant yeast: Makes the dough rise and gives the bread its fluffy texture.
- Flour: Regular all-purpose or bread flour; gives structure and chew.
- Sugar: Part goes into the dough, part into the cinnamon filling.
- Egg: One in the dough for richness, one to brush on top for shine.
- Butter: Melted in the dough and used for brushing the filling layer.
- Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon for that warm, cozy flavor.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness.
How to Make Cinnamon Wreath Bread
Full step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card.
- Step 1: Knead a soft dough from milk, yeast, flour, sugar, melted butter, egg and salt. Let it rise until doubled. Use a bread baking machine or knead by hand of with a mixer.
- Step 2: Roll the dough into a large rectangle, brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
- Step 3: Roll up, slice the roll lengthwise and twist the two strands with the cut sides facing up.
- Step 4: Shape into a wreath, let rise again, brush with egg and bake until golden brown and baked through.
Top Tips
- Watch your temperature: The milk should be lukewarm, not hot, so the yeast stays alive.
- Use a bread machine or a mixer if you have one: A stand mixer with a dough hook saves your arms and gives you a smooth dough. The bread machine will prepare the bread and go through the first rise.
- Oil the bowl lightly: So the dough doesn't stick and you can see how much it has risen.
- Flour the counter, not the dough: Too much extra flour makes the bread heavy. Lightly dust the surface only.
- Don't roll too tight: When you roll the dough before twisting, leave it a little loose so it can rise nicely in the oven.
- Check color while baking: If the top browns too fast, loosely cover with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes.
- Serve warm: This bread is at its best slightly warm, when the cinnamon sugar is still a bit soft.
- Freeze in slices: Slice leftovers and freeze. You can toast individual slices later.
What to serve with this wreath?
Butter, jam or a fresh fruit salad will be perfect matches.
Did you make this delicious recipe? Tag #byandreajanssen via Instagram! I love to see what your creation looks like and regularly share the most beautiful photos of you! Did you like this recipe? Then leave a rating on the recipe card! Your feedback helps other home cooks and me enormously.
Need more inspiration?
- You can find video recipes on my YouTube channel.
- And don't forget to save the recipes on Pinterest, so you can easily find them again next time!
📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
Recipe Help
Two easy tools to make cooking even easier. Cooking mode keeps the screen on. The easy-step recipe displays the recipe step by step, including the ingredients needed. And you can adjust servings easily
Ingredients
Bread dough
- 1 cup milk, lukewarm
- 2 teaspoons yeast, instant
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 1 egg, size L
- 1 teaspoon salt
Filling
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
Brush
- 1 egg, size s, slightly beaten
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
Bread baking machine, kneading and first rise
- First, put all the liquids in the machine. Add the flour and sugar. Put the yeast in one corner and the salt in the opposite corner.1 cup milk, 2 teaspoons yeast, instant, 3 cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup butter, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon salt
- Turn the device on and let it knead and rise.
By Hand or mixer, kneading and first rise
- Mix the lukewarm milk with the yeast and let stand for 5 minutes.1 cup milk, 2 teaspoons yeast, instant
- Put the flour, sugar, melted butter and the egg in a bowl. Pour in the milk-yeast mixture.3 cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup butter, 1 egg
- Knead with a mixer fitted with dough hooks (or by hand) for about 5 minutes.
- Add the salt and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes).1 teaspoon salt
- Lightly oil a bowl, place the dough inside, turn once to coat, and cover with a plastic wrap.
- Let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled in volume.
Filling and second rise
- Mix the sugar with the cinnamon. Set the melted butter ready. Line a baking tray with baking paper.¼ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Lightly flour your work surface and place the risen dough on it. Roll out into a large rectangle.
- Brush the surface with melted butter and sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar.2 tablespoons butter
- Roll up the dough from the long side into a log.
- Cut the log in half lengthwise and twist the two strands together, keeping the cut sides facing up.
- Form the twisted dough into a wreath and place it on the prepared baking tray.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again in a warm place for about 1 hour.
Baking
- After 30 minutes of rising, preheat the oven to
350 °F or 320 °F - Brush the wreath with the beaten egg.1 egg
- Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to330 °F ( conventional oven) or 300 °F (fan oven) and bake for another 20 minutes until golden and cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- Nutty cinnamon wreath: Sprinkle chopped walnuts or pecans over the cinnamon sugar before rolling.
- Raisin cinnamon wreath: Add a handful of soaked raisins to the filling for extra sweetness.
- Room temperature: Wrap the cooled wreath bread well or keep it in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Freezer: Freeze whole or in slices for up to 2 months. Wrap tightly in plastic and then in a freezer bag.
- Reheating/Serving: Warm slices in a low oven (about 300 °F / 150°C) for a few minutes, or toast lightly. The whole wreath can be warmed, loosely covered with aluminum foil.
Nutrition
Leave a Reply