This is a unique cinnamon bread because it has dried strawberries inside! Soft and delicious, it can be frozen and makes amazing toast.
A twist on the traditional cinnamon swirl bread, it has dried strawberries for a burst of unexpected flavor.
It's amazing toasted for breakfast and freezes well.
Dried strawberries
Like any other dried fruit, these strawberries can be found year-round and have a concentrated sweet flavor.
For this recipe, they are chopped, so don't bother buying whole ones if they're more expensive.
I'm usually very suspicious about dried and candied fruit that I don't make at home. But drying strawberries is not on my horizon to make any time soon.
They are sweet and nice to chew on, like a little soft candy. I even took a picture where all the seeds can be seen, fossil style. At least I'm confident they are real strawberries that have been dried out.
Bread baking is what I anticipate for these mild season days because the humidity is usually low, the days are starting to shorten, and I'm planning how my nesting will be this winter.
So today, I decided to try an ingredient that I was curious about, dried strawberries.
And what better companion than cinnamon?
A swirl of cinnamon and strawberries to brighten up the morning toast. Perfect.
The strawberry flavor comes across subtly. Imagine you have a piece of cinnamon bread, slather it with strawberry jam, but then decide you want it plain, so you scrape it off.
This bread is made to be toasted. And with a knob of butter melting on top, it becomes a splendid breakfast.
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Strawberry Cinnamon Swirl Bread
A beautiful cinnamon bread with dried strawberries inside!
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 10 slices
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup instant oats
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 4 cups bread flour (more or less)
For the cinnamon filling:
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 cup dried strawberries
Instructions
For the bread:
- In a small bowl, mix ½ cup of water with yeast. Let stand a few minutes until foamy.
- Mix whole wheat flour, oats, 1 cup of bread flour, and salt in a stand mixer or a large bowl if made by hand.
- Make a well in the center, add honey, remaining water, and yeast, and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until very well combined.
- With the dough hook, start mixing the dough at medium speed, adding the rest of the bread flour, ½ cup at a time, until the dough comes together.
- Knead for 6 or 7 minutes, adding extra tablespoons of bread flour if needed. The dough needs to remain somewhat sticky but not wet; it will never be a tight ball.
- Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle, with a rolling pin, or stretch it with your hands. Flour the surface as needed, but as little as possible.
- Brush the cinnamon filling over the entire surface of the dough. Scatter the dried strawberries on top of the dough.
- Roll as if you were making cinnamon rolls, then cut them into two equal pieces.
- Place each piece in an oiled loaf pan, cover with plastic and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- About 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 400ºF / 200ºC.
- Bake bread for 25 minutes, lower the oven to 350ºF / 180ºC and keep on baking for 10 to 15 more minutes until golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
- It can be kept for a month in the freezer, well wrapped.
For the cinnamon filling:
- Mix melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Notes
For freezing the bread, I recommend slicing it first.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Resting time: 120 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: International
Keywords: strawberry cinnamon bread
Adapted from How to Bake, by Nick Malgieri
plasterers bristol says
Wow this looks amazing.
Tanu says
loving your bread Paula. it looks delicious !
Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction says
Paula,
I found your post on the #twelveloaves linky party. I love cinnamon bread and with dried strawberries, it must be wonderful.
Annamaria
Cocoa and Lavender says
Reading your posts in reverse, I now understand why you said what you did in your cherry Bundt post. I have found some amazing dried fruits at our market, strawberries included. Love this bread - and the cinnamon? Mmmmmmm...
mividaenundulce says
me encanta est tipo de panes, porque es como encontrar una sorpresa dentro cuando lo partes. Maravillosa receta, muchas gracias.
Natalie G says
Oh wow this looks delicious! Love the added berry in this!
Laura Dembowski says
I love cinnamon bread! Adding dried strawberries is so creative and such a welcome addition, Paula! I can't believe you make your own dried fruit. I always buy mine. I can imagine homemade would be quite tasty.
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
Paula, this looks great. To be honest I like dried strawberries better than fresh. It seems like they have a more intense flavor. They are great in salads.
Marissa | Pinch and Swirl says
I bet this bread smells incredible as it bakes. Your breads always have such a perfect looking texture...it's a gift!