Vegan Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Learn how to make a fluffy and moist loaf of Vegan Cinnamon Swirl Bread at home. Made with plant-based, pantry staple ingredients, this homemade loaf of bread is better than anything you might pick up at the store.

I am a sucker for a slice of homemade bread. From quick focaccia to buttery garlic knots, I love a good chunk of bread.

That said, most of the bread recipes on this site are “quick breads” ones that I can have in the oven in under an hour. But lately I have been feeling the pull towards slower loaves of bread. Ones with multiple rise times, ones that leave your home smelling better than the bakery, ones that demand a little patience.

The pull towards homemade bread comes at an interesting time. With my third starting to move freely about the home, I feel like I have less time than ever to spend in the kitchen. On the flip side, my first is old enough to be helpful in the kitchen and shows a genuine interest in helping make the food we will later eat.

As a family who loves bread, I wanted to make loaves of bread that we could feel good about eating. Loaves made with a handful of ingredients and that might not be perfect every time but come pretty darn close.

Why We Love This Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe

We have made this moist, chewy bread every week for over 2 months and I am pretty sure I am going to be investing in additional loaf pans just to accommodate the growing demand for this recipe in our family.

• Better than store bought. Never dry and always chewy, this homemade cinnamon bread beats the store bought version any day.
• Vegan. Made with simple, plant-based ingredients, this recipe is perfect for everyone!
• Satisfying. There is just something so satisfying about making your own loaf of bread that will have you wanting to make another, and another, and another…

Vegan Changes to Cinnamon Swirl Bread

This recipe was adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction’s Cinnamon Swirl Bread. I liked the step-by-step guide she provided to walk you through the process of making bread at home.

To make this vegan with pantry staple ingredients, here are the ways we adapted the recipe:

• All purpose flour. While the original recipe uses bread flour, I made this bread well over a dozen times using all purpose flour and found the texture to be perfect.
• Non-dairy milk. I tested the recipe with almond milk, oat milk, and coconut milk and found it worked well with all three. I did notice less rise on the coconut milk loaves but found them to be intensely flavorful.
• Plant-based butter. In place of a traditional butter we used a vegan alternative.
• Replaced egg with non-dairy milk. To help the cinnamon sugar filling stick, we replaced the egg with vegan milk.

How to Make Vegan Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Non-dairy milk– Almond milk, oat milk, and coconut milk all work well in this recipe. If you use coconut milk the dough will not rise as much but it still tastes delicious.
• Yeast– Active dry yeast helps give this vegan loaf a rise.
• Sugar– Feeds the yeast and sweetens the loaf.
• Vegan Butter– Tenderizes the bread dough while also giving a flavor to the loaf.
• Flour- All purpose works beautifully in this recipe.
• Salt– For flavor.
• Cinnamon Sugar– A mixture of granulated sugar and cinnamon makes the delicious swirl in the middle of the bread.

Step-by-Step Directions for Vegan Cinnamon Swirl Bread

• Warm the liquids: Heat water and dairy-free milk between 110-120°F
• Activate yeast: In the bowl of a stand mixer, pour warmed non-dairy milk and water mixture over yeast and 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Mix until smooth and let sit 5-10 minutes.
• Begin the dough: With a dough hook mixing on low, add the vegan butter, remaining sugar, 1 cup of flour, and salt. Mix slowly to combine.

• Note: The butter will still be pretty solid, that is okay.
• Add flour: Next add the second cup of flour to the mixture and mix until combined then, add the final cup of flour, and mix on low for about 2 minutes.
• Feel the dough: Turn off the mixer and feel the dough. If it sticks to your finger, add 2 Tablespoons of flour. If your finger doesn’t stick to the dough, you don’t need to add anymore flour.
• Knead: Crank the speed up to medium and knead the dough for 8 minutes.

• 1st Rise: After the 8 minutes, transfer the dough to a large bowl that has been oiled. Cover and allow the dough to rise until doubled in size (about 2 hours).
• Turn out dough: Once the dough has risen to twice the size, turn it out onto a pastry mat or lightly floured surface.

• Roll into rectangle: Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle roughly 8 inches wide and 20 inches long.
• Spread non-dairy milk: With a pastry brush, brush a thin layer of non-dairy milk on the dough.
• Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the dough.

• Roll the dough into an 8 inch long log and place in a greased loaf pan.
• 2nd Rise: Cover and allow to rise for 1 hour.

• Brush top: After rising, brush a thin coat of melted vegan butter on top.
• Bake in a preheated oven for 40-45 minutes.
• Cool: Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.
• Slice and enjoy.

Helpful Kitchen Tools

Here are the kitchen tools that make it easier to make a loaf of bread at home.

• Stand Mixer– While you absolutely can make your own loaf of bread at home without a stand mixer, I have found it much more enjoyable to have a mixer do the hard work for me.
• Pastry Mat– Great for turning out the dough and rolling it out before topping with cinnamon sugar.
• Loaf Pan– For all of the test batches on this recipe, I used a glass pyrex loaf pan.

Serving Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I will not judge how you wish to indulge in a slice of cinnamon swirl bread. Here are some of the ways we have been dishing out this homemade loaf of bread.

• Warmed with a little vegan butter on top
• Toasted with vegan butter and an extra sprinkle of cinnamon sugar (my kids favorite)
• After toasting, slater a little peanut butter and slice some bananas on top (think banana toast)

Storing and Freezing

One of the things I love about this vegan cinnamon bread is that it keeps for over a week and can easily freeze. Here are a few tips to get the most shelf life out of your bread.

Storing. Let the loaf come to room temperature before placing an a plastic bag. The loaf should keep up to 10 days.

Freezing. Personally I like to slice the loaf into individual slices before storing an a freezer safe gallon zip lock bag that way I can pull out as many slices as needed from the freezer.

To freeze the whole loaf, start by cooling the bread completely. Wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap and then store in a freezer safe zip top bag for up to 3 months. When you want to use the loaf simply remove from the freezer, leave in the plastic wrap, and let come to room temperature before slicing and enjoying.

Bread Loaves to Make Next

If you are looking for some quicker bread recipes, here are some of my favorites.

• Cheddar and Onion Beer Bread
• Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
• Chocolate Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

If you tried this cinnamon swirl bread recipe please let me know in the comments below!

You can also share a picture of it with me on Instagram by tagging @mylifeafterdairy so I can see all of your life after dairy adventures!

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