Yum Peaceful Cooking: Milk and Honey Cinnamon Raisin Bread and Ceylon Cinnamon Giveaway

Friday, February 7, 2014

Milk and Honey Cinnamon Raisin Bread and Ceylon Cinnamon Giveaway


Cinnamon raisin bread is a love that developed as a child and continues to this day. Although the version I had way back when, was store bought. Being able to make it at home brings a certain joy to my heart. Watching others enjoy it as well just makes my heart sing.

One of the keys to any successful recipe is the quality of ingredients. Unbleached flour, active yeast, local organic honey, and of course cinnamon. Yes, I said cinnamon.


My eyes have recently been opened. I have seen the light! The benefits of this lighter colored Ceylon Cinnamon that is. And I have Flavor of The Earth to thank for this culinary revelation. I had no idea! I mean, to me....cinnamon was cinnamon. You either bought the powder, or you bought the sticks. What was on the shelf, labeled as cinnamon...was it. Little did I know that the cinnamon we all most commonly purchase, called Cassia cinnamon is...well, lacking. On so many levels. Ceylon cinnamon, scientifically known as "true cinnamon" is ground from the bark of an evergreen in Sri Lanka. The main benefit and difference? Health benefits. Coumarin content for one. If you're an avid cinnamon consumer, it's recommended to stick with Ceylon in order to avoid liver damage (holy moly!!). Then there's the vitamins, antioxidants, blood sugar regulatory benefits. And seriously...the list goes on and on.

(Ceylon on the left. Cassia on the right)

Back to the culinary factors. The first thing you'll notice is the color. Which surprised me. In my head, I imagined it would be darker and richer. Well, it is richer. In a spicy depth sort of way. The aroma is intense (as cinnamon should be) but if you really pay attention...you'll notice less earthy (almost bark) tones and discover more rich notes of sweet citrus. Pure bliss! (I'm sitting here, repeatedly opening my jar and whiffing as I type. Just because. It's comforting and enjoyable.)

Wouldn't you love to be able to get your hands on some? I'll tell you how....for free, in a minute. Let me show you how I made my bread first. 

Before you begin, mix together some cinnamon sugar:

1/4 cup sugar
1 TB Ceylon Cinnamon


Milk & Honey Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Printable Version
makes 1 loaf

4 cups flour
1 pk yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup warm milk (about 110' F)
2 TB honey
2 TB melted butter, plus more for brushing the top of the loaf
2 tsp barley malt syrup (optional but does help boost the yeast and add a bit of caramel color and slight sweetness)
1 TB cinnamon sugar (or more if desired)
1/2 cup raisins (or more if desired)
1 tsp raw sugar (optional)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast and salt. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the warm milk, honey, butter and barley malt syrup. Stir until honey and barley malt syrup have dissolved and blended with the liquids.

Tip: when measuring the honey and barley malt syrup, coat the measuring utensil with oil first. This will guarantee that nothing sticks...it slides right out. 

Pour the liquid into the flour bowl and mix well. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.

Note: I found this dough to be a bit on the dry side and did not need to flour my counter. I wet my hands a few times and continued to knead, thus adding a bit of water at a time without messing up the dough. If you are an experienced bread maker and can tell when you added the liquid that it's too dry, add a little water at that time, maybe a tablespoon, but not too much. 

Form into a ball and place the dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise, in a draft free corner of your kitchen. 

Grease a loaf pan.



Once the dough has doubled in size (about an hour, depending on the room temp. Don't stress about it. It could be longer than an hour or it could be shorter) turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll the dough into an 8 x 15 rectangle. If you find that the dough bounces back and is resistant, let it rest for a few minutes and go at it again. 

Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the rectangle and top with raisins. 


Starting with the short end, roll the dough up and pinch to secure


Place the log in the prepared loaf pan, pinched seam side down. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about 45 minutes. You can tell it's done rising when you gently poke it with your finger and it leaves a slight indent. If it springs back into place right away, let it continue to rise.

Preheat the oven to 375' F

Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until a deep golden brown


Allow to cool thoroughly before slicing. 

This bread was so good! The crumb is soft, the crust is firm. Cinnamon and raisins inside. It doesn't even need butter. Or toasting.




But of course that's my favorite way to eat cinnamon raisin bread. One slice (not shown) even got an extra sprinkling of more cinnamon sugar. Heavenly!

Back to the Ceylon Cinnamon. And the giveaway! Flavor of the Earth asked me to try their Ceylon Cinnamon. They are also allowing me to .......

GIVE AWAY 
1 pound of Flavor of The Earth Ceylon Cinnamon!

To enter: 
1. Leave a comment telling me what you would make with Ceylon Cinnamon. Make sure you record your answer in the Rafflecopter widget after you leave your comment. 
2. Visit Flavor of The Earth Amazon store and tell me which quality appeals to you the most. Make sure you record this answer in the Rafflecopter widget.
3. Increase your chances of winning by taking advantage of the other ways you can enter! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


This giveaway is open to US residents only. This giveaway will run from Saturday February 8, 2014 through Monday February 17, 2014 (11:59 pm PT). Winner will be notified within 48 hours of the close of the contest and given 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. 

I was not compensated for this post, however Flavor of The Earth supplied me with a sample bottle of Ceylon Cinnamon.  They are also supplying 1 pound of Ceylon Cinnamon for the giveaway.  All opinions are my own.

33 comments:

  1. I really want to make this Milk & Honey Cinnamon Raisin Bread!!!

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  2. I make banana foster creams (chocolates). Would love to try it with Ceylon Cinnamon.

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  3. The quality that appeals to me is that its ground in small batches. So it's got to be fresh.

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  4. That is the most beautiful loaf of bread that I have seen in a loooooooooooooooooooooong time. I would make Cinnamon rolls, Cinnamon Potatoes, Pastitsio, Cafe Miel, the list is almost endless. It's even great to sprinkle on your Hot Cocoa! LOVE IT!

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  5. I had no idea there were such differences in cinnamon. I need to try that bread, I'm sure the boys would have me using it for French Toast too. Tweeting this post!

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  6. I had no idea there was a different - better cinnamon. Sounds amazing!
    I haven't had cinnamon raisin bread in forever. I should make some soon.

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  7. I would use this to make my famous homemade cinnamon brownies! Thanks for such a yummy and very useful giveaway :)

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  8. Cinnamon rolls and bread will be perfect

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  9. Unless you're going to be cooking/baking an awful lot with cinnamon, it seems counter-intuitive to win that much, so if I score, I'll have to share ... at least with my sister. That's our favorite kind of cinnamon. Hmmm, there are sooooooooo many things you can do with it, and now Shane has me really curious about cinnamon potatoes, but I've had my grandmother's rice pudding on the brain lately, and since a health dash of cinnamon goes on top, I'd probably make that first, and I've been playing around with V-Day ideas, so maybe some would go in a whipped cream for that too. Thanks for the opportunity, and your bread looks beauuuuuuuuuutifullllll! :)

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  10. The quality I most appreciate is that it is actually 100% cinnamon, since I found out a few years ago that a lot are not. Seems like we're finding out that more and more of what we think we're eating isn't what we're actually eating. Cinnamon isn't cinnamon, honey isn't honey, etc. It's hard to keep up!! :(

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  11. I would make your bread recipe!! It looks fantastic.

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  12. Healthworks Raw Certified Organic Cacao Powder 1lb/16oz would go great. So glad u have found Ceylon, I came across it a few yrs ago when I started buying Penzeys spices. I put it in my hot chocolate and spice up my companys coffee with it. I myself cant stand coffee!

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  13. cinnamon rolls
    thanks for the giveaway
    aunteegem@yahoo.com

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  14. that its actually 100 percent cinnamon
    aunteegem@yahoo.com

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  15. I know to quality EVERYTHING makes a difference so I would LOVE to try this cinnamon and the first thing I'd make would be my favorite Cinnamon Rolls! What else? Thanks for the chance at the giveaway!

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  16. The fact that is has so much less coumarin really appeals to me-I had no idea about this before!

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  17. I want to make cinnamon bread. I'm on the hunt to recreate the cinnamon bread from childhood.

    And I like the high quality of Earth Ceylon cinnamon. I've tasted and had it before. :)

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  18. I would absolutely make your bread! It looks bakery perfect!

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  19. I love the health benefits of cinnamon!

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  20. I would start with your bread, which looks picture-perfect, and then I have a more sugary cinnamon loaf (kind of a coffee cake) I would make.

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  21. I had never heard of the coumarin issue, so that is intriguing.

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  22. Wow I never knew there was a difference between the two...I love cinnamon and use it daily....had to go have a look which one I had in the pantry. I would certainly start with making your bread...my daughter's favorite thing is cinnamon toast....I love that the Ceylon contains less Coumarin.
    Samantha

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  23. I would try cinnamon rolls!
    Thank you for the chance.

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  24. This bread recipe of course.

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  25. I would make cinnamon rolls...this cinnamon sounds fantastic!

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  26. I would share with my grandma so she could make me cinnamon rolls. Hers taste better than mine.

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  27. I like that it is pure cinnamon and nothing else.

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  28. Snickerdoodles! dfal182@gmail.com

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  29. 100% Pure Cinnamon! dfal182@gmail.com

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