Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread Recipe | Squirrelly Girl

June 1, 2026

Squirrelly Girl Sourdough Dessert Recipe

🍇🍞 Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Dessert Bread

Soft. Buttery. Cinnamon-packed. Loaded with raisins.

This isn't a traditional crusty sourdough boule. It's a rich, tender sourdough dessert loaf with warm cinnamon, sweet raisins, brown sugar, and plenty of buttery bakery-style flavor.

Beginner Friendly Sourdough Bread Flour ½ Cup Butter One Loaf

If cinnamon raisin bread and a soft bakery dessert loaf had a very delicious baby, this would be it. This recipe is designed to be approachable enough for a beginner but structured with enough detail that experienced bakers can fine-tune the texture and fermentation. The secret is the rich dough: butter, eggs, brown sugar, sourdough starter, and bread flour create a soft, tender crumb that is loaded with cinnamon and raisins.

🍇 Why You'll Love This Recipe

✔ Soft and buttery crumb

✔ Loaded with juicy raisins

✔ Warm cinnamon flavor

✔ Rich brown sugar sweetness

✔ Uses bread flour

✔ No complicated shaping

✔ Beginner-friendly method

✔ Bakery-style results at home

🍞 Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Dessert Bread

20 min Prep

60–70 min Bake

1 loaf 9 × 5-inch

350°F Oven

🧈 Rich Sourdough Batter

100 g active sourdough starter or discard
300 g bread flour
½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 large eggs
100 g brown sugar
100 g whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
8 g sea salt

🍇 Cinnamon Raisin Filling

150 g raisins
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
40 g brown sugar
1 tbsp melted butter

Optional Topping

1 tbsp coarse sugar

🔥 Preheat & Prep

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).

Grease a standard 9 × 5-inch loaf pan or line it with parchment paper.

Beginner Tip: Leave some parchment hanging over the long sides of the pan. Once the loaf cools, you can simply lift it straight out.

🧈 Melt the Butter

Melt ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter and allow it to cool for several minutes.

You want the butter melted and fluid, but not hot.

🧈 WARM IS GOOD. HOT IS NOT.

Hot butter can partially cook the eggs when they are combined. Slightly cooled melted butter gives you a much smoother batter.

🥣 Mix the Wet Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together:

100 g sourdough starter
2 eggs
113 g melted butter
100 g milk
100 g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Whisk until smooth and evenly combined.

🌾 Add the Dry Ingredients

Add:

300 g bread flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
8 g sea salt

Gently fold everything together until the flour has just disappeared.

🛑 STOP MIXING HERE

This is a rich dessert loaf, not a traditional kneaded sourdough bread. Overmixing can create a tougher crumb. Mix just until combined.

🍇 Prepare the Cinnamon Raisin Filling

In a small bowl, combine:

150 g raisins
2 tbsp cinnamon
40 g brown sugar
1 tbsp melted butter

Stir until the raisins are lightly coated and the cinnamon sugar is evenly distributed.

Pro-Level Upgrade: If your raisins are very dry, soak them briefly in warm water before using them. Drain and dry them thoroughly so you don't add excess water to the loaf.

🌀 Create the Cinnamon Layers

Pour approximately half of the batter into your prepared loaf pan.

Sprinkle approximately half of the cinnamon-raisin mixture over the batter.

Add the remaining batter, then finish with the remaining cinnamon-raisin mixture.

Use a butter knife or skewer to gently make a few swirls through the batter.

🌀 DON'T OVER-SWIRL

A few gentle passes create beautiful cinnamon ribbons. Too much swirling simply mixes everything together.

✨ Finish the Top

Smooth the top gently with a spatula.

If desired, sprinkle a small amount of coarse sugar over the top before baking.

This creates a subtle crunchy finish that looks especially beautiful once the loaf is baked.

🔥 Bake

Place the loaf into your preheated 350°F (175°C) oven.

BAKE 60–70 MINUTES

Start checking around the 60-minute mark. The top should be deeply golden and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Pro-Level Check: Don't judge the loaf by color alone. Cinnamon raisin bread can brown beautifully before the center is completely baked.

❄️ Cool Before Slicing

Let the loaf cool in the pan for approximately 15 minutes.

Carefully lift it from the pan and transfer it to a wire rack.

Allow it to cool substantially before slicing.

THE HARDEST STEP

Waiting.

We understand if you don't make it.

🍇 The Secret to Incredible Cinnamon Raisin Bread

The biggest mistake with cinnamon raisin bread is treating it like a plain loaf and simply throwing raisins into the dough.

By layering the cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, and raisins, you get pockets of flavor throughout the loaf.

Every slice should have a little cinnamon, a little raisin, and a whole lot of buttery sourdough goodness.

👩🍳 Squirrelly Girl Baker's Tips

🧈 Cool Your Butter Slightly cooled melted butter combines much more smoothly with eggs.

🌾 Use Bread Flour Bread flour gives this rich loaf enough structure to support the butter, eggs, sugar, and raisins while still producing a soft crumb.

🍇 Don't Use Wet Raisins If you soak raisins, dry them thoroughly before adding them to the batter.

🥣 Don't Overmix Once the flour disappears, stop mixing. That's how you keep the crumb tender.

⏳ Let It Cool The loaf continues setting as it cools. Waiting gives you cleaner slices and a better texture.

🌟 New to Sourdough? This One Is for You.

Not every sourdough recipe needs complicated stretch-and-fold schedules, bannetons, scoring, and overnight fermentation.

This recipe gives you the flavor of sourdough while using the much simpler approach of a dessert-style loaf.

If you can mix ingredients, pour batter into a pan, and turn on an oven, you can make this.

That's exactly where we want beginners to start.

👩🍳 Want a More Professional Result?

Weigh your ingredients rather than relying on volume measurements whenever possible.

Use room-temperature eggs and milk, cool your melted butter before mixing, and avoid overmixing once the flour is incorporated.

Most importantly, judge doneness by the center of the loaf rather than simply relying on the crust color.

⚠️ Baker's Warning

You will tell yourself:

"I'm only cutting one slice."

Then you'll cut another because the first one wasn't quite big enough.

Then another for quality control.

This is completely normal sourdough behavior. 😂

☕ How to Serve It

Slice it thick and serve it warm with butter.

Pair it with coffee for breakfast.

Add a little cream cheese for a cinnamon-raisin breakfast treat.

Or warm a slice and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an easy dessert.

There really isn't a wrong answer.

📦 How to Store Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread

Once completely cool, wrap the loaf or place it in an airtight container and store it at room temperature.

For longer storage, slice the loaf and freeze the individual slices.

Easy Breakfast Hack: Freeze individual slices and pop them into the toaster whenever you want a quick cinnamon raisin treat.

📚 Continue Your Sourdough Journey

Ready to go beyond cinnamon raisin bread? Keep building your sourdough skills with the Squirrelly Girl guides designed to make sourdough easier to understand — whether you're just starting or looking to sharpen your baking skills.

🍞 Sourdough Academy 🥣 What Is Sourdough Starter? 🌾 How to Activate Sourdough Starter 💧 How to Feed Sourdough Starter 🧬 How Sourdough Starter Works ✅ How to Tell if Sourdough Starter Is Ready

🐿️ Ready to Make Better Sourdough?

Great sourdough baking starts with a strong, healthy starter.

Squirrelly Girl Sourdough Starter makes it easier to get your starter active, healthy, and ready for baking.

FREE Worldwide Shipping • Easy to Activate • 100% Activation Guarantee

Get Squirrelly Girl Sourdough Starter

One starter. Endless sourdough possibilities.

❤️ Happy Baking!

Warm cinnamon. Sweet raisins. A soft buttery crumb.

And that unmistakable little tang from sourdough.

That's a loaf worth making.

🐿️ Happy baking from Squirrelly Girl!

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