I’ve made this cinnamon loaf many times and there are always gaps between the cinnamon layers near the top. Why does this happen? Over proofed?
Recipe is Sally’s baking addiction https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-cinnamon-swirl-bread/#tasty-recipes-66855
by aviankal
31 Comments
Liminal spaces.
I’m sorry I’ll see myself out.
Try poking a couple of holes in it prebake to let air escape, I usually add a second bread pan upside down on top as well
Is it cinnamon sugar?
The sugar reacts to the dough and becomes very wet and will sometimes cause a separation in the dough layers.
I’ve had trouble doing a cinnamon sugar filling unless it’s in cinnamon rolls haha
That’s where the butter goes
Interesting that the recipe is just straight cinnamon and sugar for the swirl. The one that I use recommends using some flour in the mix to help combat moisture buildup.
Edit – I’d also guess it’s over proofed and should have a tighter wrap too.
Respectfully, I have had nothing but poor results from that site.
It looks really good though (minus the cavities)!
I’ve had very good results with https://traditionalbakingandcooking.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/cinnamon-raisin-loaf-rose-levy-beranbaums-bread-bible/
She mentions on her Notes how to prevent large gaps. See Note # 10.
Someone snuck in and ate all the yummy bits.
Gaps? I see cavern of cinnamon wonders
I’ve had this happen and fixed the issue by brushing with a bit of beaten egg before sprinkling cinnamon and sugar. Acts like glue!
the one on the left looks like Knuckles from Sonic the hedgehog, one on the right looks like a snail 🙂 I think they’re cute!
this comment from may 2025 might have the answer:
Thank you, Sally, for the wonderful recipe! I baked this bread yesterday, and it was indescribably delicious! I think I may have figured out the real cause of the gaps that many bakers are experiencing. The recipe instructs us to brush whipped egg white over the TOP of the rolled-out dough, then sprinkle the dry cinnamon-sugar mixture on top. But here’s the problem: only the TOP surface of the dough is moistened. The cinnamon-sugar mixture is dry. So when you roll the dough up, the UNDERSIDE of each layer ends up in contact with the dry sugar mixture, which doesn’t stick well to the dough and can cause separation during baking.
To fix this, I mixed the cinnamon and sugar with the egg white to form A SPREADABLE PASTE, and then applied that to the dough. The result? A beautifully swirled loaf with no gaps and no layers pulling apart. Next time I plan to try the same method using softened butter instead of egg white—mixing it with the sugar and cinnamon into A PASTE before spreading it.
This method really helps the filling adhere to the dough better and prevents the layers from separating during baking. Happy baking to all!
Idk why but this is giving me the creeps🤣
You need to brush egg whites when you add the cinnamon sugar to act like glue 🙂 KAF has a blog post years ago about it
Ngl still looks delicious af
I can’t say for sure, but I make a similar cinnamon bread and have never had this problem. Two key differences between my recipe and this are:
I let my dough bulk twice. Punch down after the first.
I don’t use egg white or butter for the swirl. I only sprinkle the rolled out dough with cinnamon sugar (and 1/2 tsp cardamom, total game changer), roll and immediately bake. Best of luck!
With bread like this I would score the top three times across and then stab once into each hole all the way to the bottom, so the air between the layers has somewhere to go. Air between the layers expands when it gets hot and it’s got nowhere to go, that’s why you have these cavities. Give it an escape route
It’s so cute❤️
Im guessing from the darkness and depth of the crust, and strange uncooked crumb within that your oven was way too hot. The heat exagerates bubbling like making pita bread. Also use butter in the brwn sugar/cinnamon/raisin mixture
Add an egg wash first, for my swirl loaf I do approx 5tbs brown sugar, 1tbs cinnamon and 2 bread flour mixed together. I roll it out and make sure to pull in the sides when I roll it up too. And egg wash the top when rolling
How hot was it when you cut it? Got too exited to see the swirling?
Well, it IS heart shaped.
i ated it
You may have spread more than adequate soft butter. If you don’t mind the “gaps” then it’s all good. I have the same experience when baking Cinnamon Raisin Bread and I spread more than necessary soft butter.
It’s to pour honey and chocolate into, duh
Cinnamon’t 🙁
Did you use butter in the cinnamon part? Butter doesn’t mix with wet. Try an egg wash with your cinnamon sugar mixture.
Ah, I can see what happened. See, you made cinnamon bread, but if you don’t want a gap, you need cinnamonbread. It’s an easy mistake to make.
It looks like a well risen loaf! I think that you rolled up the dough too loosely, plus if you used butter along with the sugar and cinnamon when you make a cinnamon loaf, it might resist staying together as it rises or bakes. I make cinnamon bread and buns all the time. I don’t use butter when I roll up cinnamon and sugar into the loaf. I make sure that my dough is quite sticky. I lay it out in a rectangle, then i sprinkle on the cinnamon and sugar mixture. The trick to the rolling is to tug it back a bit before each roll so that it’s snug and has less propensity to come apart when it’s rising or baking. I use butter with the cinnamon and sugar for cinnamon rolls but I use the same roll up method. Hope that’s helpful. Cheers
Tour bread didn’t rise enough before baking