Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough
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When I make this sourdough cinnamon raisin bread I have to hide it. And I don’t mean like tuck it in the cupboard, I mean, like… HIDE it.
I literally have to bake it when the house is empty and wrap it twice before stuffing it in the cupboard up above the microwave, because I’m the only one who knows that hiding spot exists.
I swear Kevy and the kids are like drug-sniffing dogs, but with sourdough. They walk into the house and just know I baked some of that goodness. Then they eat it 🙁 It’s just rude if you ask me. Ha!
But who can blame them? Rich sourdough taste with an irresistible cinnamon raisin swirl? I can’t. That’s why I hide it!
This cinnamon raisin sourdough recipe is dedicated to keeping the good stuff for yourself!
Did You Know?
This cinnamon raisin sourdough recipe is shared with you in partnership with Brod + Taylor. They’ve asked me to share one of my favorite sourdough recipes with my awesome readers!
Jump to:
Tips
- If you’re overwhelmed with all things sourdough, I can help you! I have guides on everything from making a 24 hour sourdough starter, to picking the best starter jar, to feeding sourdough starter, to storing sourdough starter, to proofing in the fridge, to freezing sourdough bread, to using up discard, and more.
- Using the Brod + Taylor proofing box has revolutionized my sourdough baking. With the proofing box, not only do I get more consistent bakes, but I can go from feeding my starter to making my dough within 3 hours, and speed up my bulk fermentation time too! See more on the proofing box below.
- Adding the buttery cinnamon mixture to this recipe will be similar to adding the filling to my jalapeño cheddar sourdough. BUT the shaping is much easier and is done in basically 1 step!
- I finally(!) got a couple of bannetons! They are 100% NOT necessary for baking sourdough, but I do prefer the results of the loaves that have been proofed in the bannetons. If you don’t have one, I have a great guide to banneton alternatives.
- Can’t get enough sourdough and cinnamon? Try my sourdough cinnamon rolls!
Key Ingredients
Active Sourdough Starter: For this recipe, you want to use a fed and active sourdough starter. Your starter should have been fed within the last approximately 6-8 hours and have at least doubled in size. This recipe is based on a sourdough starter with 100% hydration (equal amounts of flour and water by weight, not volume.)
Cinnamon: Even if you’re a cinnamon aficionado with a collection of cinnamon, I would still recommend Saigon cinnamon. It’s more affordable, easily accessible, and has a rich, spicy flavor that’s perfectly suited to the sourdough flavor in this recipe.
Raisins: I recommend dark Thompson raisins. These seed-free raisins are sun-dried and have a delicious, caramel-like flavor that pairs perfectly with the spice in the cinnamon. Golden raisins will work in a pinch, but they are treated to prevent their skin from darkening and tend to have a more acidic taste.
How To Make Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread
Build The Dough:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 100g fed and active starter with 350g warm water. Whisk until homogenous.
- In another bowl, whisk together 500g bread flour, 10g salt, and 25g granulated sugar. Mix this into the wet ingredients. I usually stir with a whisk until I get to the shaggy stage. Once the dough looks shaggy, I’ll switch to a bowl scraper or my hands to help lift and fold the dough into itself to ensure all the flour is absorbed.
- Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest for 45-60 minutes. This rest period improves the extensibility of the dough, leading to a better crumb and crust. I usually use a shower cap to cover my bowl, but a tea towel will work too!
Stretch + Fold:
- With wet hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4-8 times, for 1-2 rotations around the bowl. This is considered a set of stretches and folds.
- Recover the bowl and rest for another 45 minutes before repeating the stretch and fold process.
- After the second stretch and fold, pour hot water over 125g of seedless raisins and allow them to soak during the next 45 minute rest.
- Prior to the third stretch and fold, strain the water out of the soaked raisins. Then add the raisins to the dough and stretch and fold the raisins into the dough. You’ll likely have to do a little convincing and pressing the raisins into the dough. Any way you get it done is perfect! Recover the bowl and allow it to rest for another 45-60 minutes.
Cinnamon Raisin Swirl:
- In a small bowl, combine 40g softened butter with 25g granulated sugar, 8g ground cinnamon, and 15g all purpose or bread flour to make a paste.
- Lightly dust your countertop with flour, then turn the dough onto the work surface.
- Carefully press/stretch the dough into a rectangular shape with wet hands. The dough may fight your pulling, but take care to not tear the dough – if required, stretch a bit, then let the dough rest for a couple of minutes before stretching more.
- Spread most of the cinnamon butter mixture over the surface of the dough, leaving about a 1/2″ gap along the edges to ensure your dough sticks together and the cinnamon doesn’t run out.
- Fold up the bottom of the rectangle about 1/3 of the way up, like you’d fold a letter. Spread the remaining cinnamon sugar blend on the top, ensuring you leave 1/2″ along the edge. Fold the top of the dough over the bottom. Gently fold the sides under to form a boule shape.
- Place the shaped dough seam-side up into a banneton, floured with rice flour, or banneton alternative, and cover. Allow the dough to rest at room temperature 4-5 hours to bake today, or place in the fridge to cold proof overnight for 6-24 hours.
Bake:
- Preheat oven with dutch oven inside to 450f. I use a large, bare cast iron dutch oven for this recipe. A light-colored enamel dutch oven absolutely works as well, I just find the lighter color enamel gives a lighter crust and tends to stain.
- Once the oven is preheated, turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper, then score the top of the loaf.
- Lift the dough using the parchment paper as a sling and place it into the hot dutch oven.
- Bake at 450f for 35 minutes covered and then another 15-20 minutes uncovered, until the crust is golden brown.
- Remove from dutch oven immediately and place on a wire rack to cool for at least an hour before slicing.
Baker’s Schedule
- Day 1 –>
- 6:30 am: Feed the starter.
- 12:00 pm: Make the dough and rest for autolyze.
- 3:00 pm: Stretch and fold process is complete.
- 3:45 pm: Spread cinnamon butter mixture on the dough, shape the dough, and place into banneton. Allow shaped loaf to proof for 4-5 hours to bake today, or slide into plastic bag and place in fridge for 6-24 hours.
- Day 2 –>
- 8:30 am: Set a dutch oven into the cold oven and preheat both together at 450f.
- 9:30 am: Flip the cinnamon raisin sourdough loaf onto a parchment paper square, score the top of the loaf. Then bake in the dutch oven.
Our Favorite
Sourdough Recipes
Why Use A Proofing Box?
I absolutely adore my Brod + Taylor proofing box! It has simplified and improved my sourdough baking in a few different ways.
- Speed! One of the major factors in fermentation is temperature, and keeping my sourdough starter at a warmer temperature has helped me to learn my starter better and know how long it will take to activate after feeding, or what to expect for my bulk fermentation time.
- Consistency! Due to the consistently warmer temperature in the proofing box, my bread is consistently rising and ready for baking at expected times.
- Scheduling! This one ties into speed, but deserves its own section. Increasing the speed of fermentation means that I can much more easily fit sourdough baking into my busy schedule, and you will too.
- Better rise! The photos below show a fed starter split into two containers over the course of 3 hours. One was placed at room temperature and one was placed in the proofing box. It is evident that the starter in the proofing box rose/activated much more quickly than the room temperature starter. The starter from the proofing box also rose taller than the room temperature starter overall.
Using A Proofing Box For This Recipe
It’s really easy to incorporate the proofing box into sourdough baking!
Fill the water reservoir and set the proofing box to 80f. Return the dough to the proofing box each time you’re done handling it and reduce the time by approximately 1/3rd. If your stretch and folds need 45 minutes rest at room temp, reduce the time to 30 minutes in the proofer.
Batch + Storage
Batch:
This recipe bakes a nice-sized loaf of cinnamon raisin sourdough bread. This is the perfect amount for our family of 4 to serve with breakfast for at least 2 days. Or for me to hide from my kids and spouse for up to 3 days!
Storage:
If you’ve got leftover sourdough, you’ve got serious willpower! There are a couple of ways to store sourdough bread to help prolong its quality after cutting.
Your boule can be kept cut side down on a cutting board for up to 12 hours before the crust becomes too crisp. This is our go-to. I recommend transferring it to a bread bag after 16-18 hours though. Once it gets a little crusty or hard, cinnamon sourdough makes a great french toast!
Your sourdough loaf can also be frozen. To freeze sourdough, cool the loaf to room temperature, then tightly wrap it in plastic wrap, slide it into a bread bag, seal it up and stick it in the freezer for 1-2 months. To use after freezing, remove the loaf from the freezer, unwrap and allow it to come to room temperature (1 -2 hours) before slicing and enjoying.
More Sourdough Bread Recipes To Love
Recommended Equipment
Brod + Taylor proofing box: Aside from streamlining and improving my sourdough baking, I love this bread proofer. It’s easy to fold flat to put away, and quick to pop back open when my company leaves and I’m good to have stuff on my countertops! HA! I love that I can feed my starter and be ready to bake within 3-4 hours. You can’t make sourdough happen instantly, but this nifty unit helps it happen a heck of a lot faster!
Scale: It’s really hard to make sourdough without a scale. Sorry, but them’s the facts! bread baking and bread dough are a bit of a science. A good kitchen scale will treat you well over a huge range of recipes, not just sourdough recipes – I use mine to cure homemade bacon!
📖 Printable Recipe
Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Dough:
- 100 g active sourdough starter
- 350 g water filtered, room temperature
- 500 g bread flour
- 25 g granulated sugar
- 10 g sea salt
- 125 g Thompson seedless raisins
Cinnamon fiiling:
- 40 g butter softened
- 25 g granulated sugar
- 15 g bread flour
- 8 g ground cinnamon Saigon
Instructions
Build the dough
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 100g fed and active starter with 350g warm water. Whisk until homogenous.
- In another bowl, whisk together 500g bread flour, 10g salt, and 25g granulated sugar. Mix this into the wet ingredients. I usually stir with a whisk until I get to the shaggy stage. Once the dough looks shaggy, I'll switch to a bowl scraper or my hands to help lift and fold the dough into itself to ensure all the flour is absorbed.
- Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest for 45-60 minutes. This rest period improves the extensibility of the dough, leading to a better crumb and crust.
Stretch + Fold:
- With wet hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 6-10 times, for 2-3 rotations around the bowl.
- Recover the bowl and rest for another 45 minutes before repeating the stretch and fold process.
- After the second stretch and fold, pour hot water over 125g of Thompson raisins and allow them to soak during the next 45 minute rest.
- Prior to the third stretch and fold, strain the water out of the rehydrated raisins. Then add the raisins to the dough and stretch and fold the raisins into the dough. You'll likely have to do a little convincing and pressing the raisins into the dough. Any way you get it done is perfect! Return the bowl to the dough proofer and allow it to rest for another 30 minutes.
Add-ins:
- In a small bowl, combine 40g softened butter with 25g granulated sugar, 8g Saigon cinnamon, and 15g all purpose or bread flour to make a paste.
- Lightly dust your countertop with flour, then turn the dough onto the work surface.
- Carefully press/stretch the dough into a rectangular shape with wet hands. The dough may fight your pulling, but take care to not tear the dough – if required, stretch a bit, then let the dough rest for a couple of minutes before stretching more.
- Spread most of the cinnamon butter mixture over the surface of the dough, leaving about a 1/2" gap along the edges to ensure your dough sticks together and the cinnamon doesn't run out.
- Fold up the bottom of the rectangle about 1/3 of the way up, like you'd fold a letter. Spread the remaining cinnamon sugar blend on the top, ensuring you leave 1/2" along the edge. Fold the top of the dough over the bottom. Gently fold the sides under to form a boule shape.
- Place the shaped dough into a banneton, floured with rice flour, or banneton alternative, and cover. Allow the dough to rest at room temperature 4-5 hours to bake today, or place in the fridge to cold ferment for 6-24 hours.
Bake:
- Preheat oven with dutch oven inside to 450f. I use a large, bare cast iron dutch oven for this recipe. A light-colored enamel dutch oven may need to bake longer uncovered or at a higher temperature.
- Once the oven is preheated, turn the dough out onto a parchment sheet. Score the dough with a lame or razor blade.
- Lift the dough using the parchment paper as a sling and place it into the hot dutch oven.
- Bake at 450f for 35 minutes covered and then another 15-20 minutes uncovered until the crust is golden brown.
- Remove from dutch oven immediately and place on a wire mesh rack to cool before slicing.
Notes
baker’s schedule
Day 1 –>- 6:30 am: Feed the starter.
- 12:00 pm: Make the dough and rest for autolyze.
- 3:00 pm: Stretch and fold process is complete.
- 3:45 pm: Spread cinnamon butter mixture on the dough, shape the dough, and place into banneton. Allow shaped loaf to proof for 4-5 hours to bake today, or slide into plastic bag and place in fridge for 6-24 hours.
- 8:30 am: Set a dutch oven into the cold oven and preheat both together at 450f.
- 9:30 am: Flip the cinnamon raisin sourdough loaf onto a parchment paper square, score the top of the loaf. Then bake in the dutch oven.
BATCH:
Recommended Equipment + Ingredients
Nutrition
Pin This Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread Recipe!
I can imagine this lightly toasted with a little bit of butter melted on the top. YUM. I need this sourdough in my life!
Thanks for the recipe.
This bread was so delicious – my teenage son gave me a hug!
I don’t have a fancy proofing basket – and left the dough in my stand mixer bowl to proof. In between, I used the dough hook to knead. I started the dough the night before, and let it proof fully overnight. This was an amazing treat to wake up to this morning.
This was the most successful loaf i have ever made and it’s really truly DELICIOUS!!! Thank You. People need to believe the hype.
Ah! Best comment! Thank you for sharing, I’m glad you loved it <3
I made this using an emile henry bread cloche, and it didn’t come out quite right… the bread certainly did not hold its shape and despite scoring the top, it kind of exploded out the side and the raisins burned. I placed a piece of tinfoil over the top even for the last five minutes because I was still wanted it to be cooked inside… Definitely going to give it another try because my house smells amazing and I have a feeling this recipe will take me a little bit to master.
Hi Erin,
I believe I responded to your email! But I will reply here for anyone else who’s following
My best guess as to why the bread exploded out of the side is that the scoring in the top was not deep enough and the bread found the weakest point to burst out of. Basically, the reason you get the expansion point and sometimes sourdough ear is that the crust hardens before the inside dough and as the dough continues to expand it needs a weak point in which to escape, so if the score isn’t deep enough, it will look for another weak point which could be a thinner layer where add-ins have been incorporated and stretched.
Don’t be afraid to score your dough reasonably deep and long!
So, i have no proofer. will this still work out alright?
What adjustments do i need to make?
thank you!
Yes, absolutely! Keep your dough somewhere warm during the bulk ferment, it will take a little longer, but its absolutely doable!
I have a hard time forming it into a boulle after I spread the cinnamon mixture. The dough is very sticky and it doesn’t hold shape. After I let it bulk ferment for 4-5 hours, I dust the top with white rice flour, place a piece of parchment paper on top, gently turn over and my dough spreads out quickly. I do score it several times and it pops on the top. I’m looking for any suggestions on how to shape it better, and why it pops out on the top even after I score it. Thank you. Other than the minor things, I love this recipe. How can I turn this into a rectangular loaf?
Hey Hollie, it could be the cinnamon swirls that are giving you grief – you could try to incorporate those ingredients in the original dough. Alternatively, you could surely bake it in a loaf pan – I’d probably just laminate in the inclusions as per the recipe and shape into a log for the bread pan. Then you wouldn’t have it wander on you!
Do you toss in the fridge after the bulk ferment? Or do you bake same day? You could try a shorter bulk ferment, longer proof in the banneton. I also have tossed my banneton in the freezer for 30-45 minutes, while the oven preheats, before baking and scoring when I knew my dough was a little soft, it helps a lot!
Do you have a recipe without the proofing box its a little confusing. Thanks
Hey Elomeli -thanks for letting me know that you found the steps a little unclear. I’ve edited the post and the recipe card to be more clear – I think! Please let me know if that helps! I also changed up the recipe card, so if you printed it, you can re-print to get the newer steps.
Hi, I’m new to all things sourdough an d do not have a proofing box. it would be most helpful if directions could be written for those who are new and without proofing box . I’m in the process of making this now ,so I’m praying I understand the the directions correctly. thank you.
Alexis, I am going to take the time to write the directions seperately for both ways. I will let you know as soon as I’m done <3
I’ve updated the post and recipe card a bit, hopefully it’s a little more clear! If you printed the recipe card, you can reprint it to get the new steps!
After the stretch n pulls I shaped the dough and put it in the Banneton for 5 hours like the recipe instructed.
The dough rose nicely, I put it on parchment and scored it but when I put it in my Dutch oven it plopped into a big flat mess. I had a feeling something wasn’t right without two rises. Did I miss a first rise somewhere?
I just took it out of the oven. There is some rise but not much. Internal temperature was 205° at 35 minutes so didn’t get to bake without lid at all. It smells good but not the prettiest I’ve made. Think I bombed out on this one. Any suggestions?
The only thing I can think of is that maybe there wasn’t enough tension in the dough during the shaping process. That really helps to girdle the dough inwards and send it higher in the oven.
I never do a proper double rise on my sourdough, like you would with yeasted bread – the bulk ferment begins when all ingredients are together, and although we are manipulating the dough during that time, it is still technically rising, and I consider the “second” rise the proof in the banneton.
I will keep thinking on this and come back to you if I have any other ideas!
I was so excited about this bread. I made it last night and did a fridge proof for about 14 hours. When I baked it, the inside was almost like raw dough. It was so dense. Where did I go wrong?
Hi Katie, I’m sorry you had trouble with the dough. I’m not 100% sure what happened – if it was raw like, I would assume it was under-proofed. What is the ambient temp in your kitchen? Was the dough getting more airy as you were working with it? Did it rise at all? How’s your starter – healthy and active?
I have so many questions about this recipe…. My dough is super sticky even after adding around 75 grams of extra flour. Is it supposed to be sticky? How much should it be rising between folding sessions?
It should be tacky but not overly sticky to the point that you’d have to add any extra flour. It does rise between stretch and folds but because the duration is so short between (relative to the sourdough process) you won’t notice much aside from the dough firming and creating structure with each successive folding session.
Just spitballing on potential reasons; too warm in your kitchen and the dough is developing rapidly, salt was omitted accidentally, not enough protein in the flour, young starter? I’d definitely like to get to the bottom of this!
Hey I did all the strech and folds as instructed. I didn’t have time so I just shaped and placed it in the fridge. When I’m ready to cook do I need to allow it to rise at room temperature before baking it?
Hey Chalaine, you’re perfect, pop that dough in the fridge and you can bake it straight out of the fridge 🙂
All I can say is WOW! I have been making sourdough every weekend for years now and this one doesn’t disappoint! I had intentions of freezing for the holiday’s but it didn’t last one night in our home!
Perfect toasted with butter and some cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top! Thank you for sharing!
That is so great to hear, Danette! Thanks for sharing that with me<3
The process went amazing, the smell OMG, my only issue was the cooking part. It was in an enamel dutch oven, i usually cook 20 min with lid on, and 20 minutes lid off, same temperature, somehow i started smelling burning, after 5 minutes lid off i took it out, it was burned all around 🤷♀️ I don’t usually use butter, could that be the difference?
Hey Annie, it could have also been the sugar. Sugar tends to burn easily.
Was the entire loaf burnt or just the filling?
Followed the recipe and it turned out great!
I plan to make this soon! After the last set of stretch and folds, if I don’t have a proof box, should I let dough double in size before the add in step? Thanks.
Hey Jamie, no worries, if you don’t have a proofer, just let it rest a little longer (say 45 -60 mins) before continuing. I’m gonna edit that to make it more clear!
Followed the recipe to a tee and it turned out incredible. Nice rise and perfect crumb, thank you for posting it.
Hey Gary, that’s so great to hear!! You might like my cranberry walnut sourdough bread too, it’s very similar!
What do you consider a warm temp for the water? With yeast breads, I do 115F at the most otherwise they say it kills the yeast. What about sourdough? Thanks!
I consider warm between 80-90f, hope that helps!
This is my second sourdough bread I have made and it was delicious. So I am still learning.. the bottom was burnt and I feel like the inside was a little under cooked. Any recommendations?
Thank you! Sarah
Hey Sarah, where is the dutch oven in the oven? If it’s placed in the center of the oven and still burning, you can try putting a baking sheet on the rack below your dutch oven to help deflect some of the heat.
I cut into the bread, and it was doughy inside.. everything looked so promising. I don’t know why this happened.
Hey Mahea, my best guess is that the dough was underfermented. How old is your starter? What is the average temp in your kitchen? Was the starter at its peak when you used it?
Good morning just making this raisin sourdough bread was curious is it a tablespoon of cinnamon or a tsp when I weigh out 8 grams it is more then a tablespoon looks like alot
Thankyou
Stick with 8g, it seems like a lot but it works!
This is one of my favorite recipes! Do you happen to know the nutrition information? Like how many carbs are in this recipe?
Thanks
Jena
Hey Jena, happy to hear you love this recipe as much as we do! There is nutrition information at the bottom of all my recipe cards right below the recommended ingredients and equipment 🙂
The most successful loaf of sourdough I’ve made so far! Soft, chewy, flavorful. Everything I was hoping for and more. Will definitely be adding to my regular rotation. THANK YOU for this recipe 🙂
So happy to hear this! It’s one of our favorites too!
LOVE this recipe. It’s absolutely delicious. Wondering about the nutrition facts though. Service size says 1g, that can’t be right?
Hey Mariel, I have adjusted the nutrition facts to assume each loaf gets sliced into 10 slices, that should be more accurate! Hope that helps 🙂
Just made this recipe. My dough was very sticky throughout the process. Measured everything with a scale. It was very floppy going in to dutch oven, also. I think it’s too much water. I will definitely cut down on it for next time.
Hey Fran, adding sugar to sourdough outside of the main dough can definitely be a bit of a challenge because it melts. I would not recommend reducing the water in the recipe as that will impact the dough’s qualities. I recommend baking it anyways! In the future, you can knead a really wet dough with a bit more flour, but that will impact the ribbons.
Thank you, Ally! I did bake it and it came out perfect! I’m just now making another one and can’t wait to enjoy it! Thank you! 🩷
That’s great to hear! It’s really one of those “trust the process” recipes!
I have made this yummy bread many times, and it never fails to please. I modified the directions to increase the sweetness and rasin flavor. Hydrate the raisins earlier in the day. Then use the drained raisin water with added filtered water to reach 350 grams when mixing the dough. I also mix the raisins in right at the first stretch & fold. Thanks so much for this great, reliable recipe!
Oh Amy, I love that idea! I will have to try – thanks so much for sharing!
Can I use all purpose flour?
You can try, but it has a lower protein content so the dough may be more slack and harder to work with
How did it turn out? I was going to ask the same thing today!
I baked this loaf this morning. The house smells amazing. It was a hit with my husband! He ate almost half the loaf. Thank you for the recipe!
Now you know why I hide it! LOL