Dutch Oven Cinnamon Raisin Bread
The most delicious homemade cinnamon raisin bread baked to perfection in a hot dutch oven! It has a doughy inside with sweet raisins and cinnamon, and a crunchy outer crust.
There is nothing quite like homemade bread. Especially this perfectly sweet cinnamon raisin bread. It has a light and crunchy crust, with a doughy inside, and it’s of course studded with perfectly sweet raisins. We love toasting this bread with butter or our recommended cinnamon honey butter for complete perfection!
For this recipe, all you’ll need is 1-bowl for mixing, a dutch oven pot, and a little over 30 minutes for the bread to bake. It’s EASY, so so tasty, and freezer-friendly.
Let’s get baking!
Our favorite dutch oven pot
We recommend a 6 Qt dutch oven pot for this recipe because it creates high & stable temperatures that are ideal for bread making. We love Lodge cast iron because they are quality cast iron and affordable! We use it with bread making, soups, popcorn, and so much more.
How to Make Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- Activate the yeast with warm water.
- Add rest of ingredients and stir until dough is sticky.
- Place the dough on a floured surface then shape with hands into a ball. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a damp towel in a warm place and let rise for 3+ hours or until doubled in size.
- Remove risen dough and use just enough flour on your hands and on the surface to form it into a ball.
- Place on parchment paper then use edges of the paper to lift into the dutch oven. Cover and bake at 450F for 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake until golden brown on top (another 5-10 minutes).
Tools You’ll Need
You can make this bread in a Kitchen Aid electric mixer (with bread attachment) or use a rubber spatula/wooden spoon and a large bowl to stir ingredients together.
Tips for Success
- Use your oven to proof the dough: whenever dough needs to rise, it’s best to let it sit in a consistent and controlled climate. I prefer using my oven with the light on (oven settings are off). This creates a consistent temperature while the oven light develops a small amount of warmth to encourage the dough to rise.
- Freeze it: Let the bread cool and store in a freezer-friendly bag (press all the air out) and freeze for 1-2 months. Let thaw at room temperature and reheat in the oven at 350F until warm.
- Tips if preheating dutch oven: this recipe doesn’t call for preheating your dutch oven, but if choose to do this I recommend doing a double layer of parchment paper to ensure the bottom of the bread doesn’t get too brown.
- Easy cinnamon honey butter recipe: Make delicious and slightly sweet honey butter to spread on your homemade bread. You’ll need 1 tsp honey, a pinch of cinnamon, 3 tbsp room temperature butter – mix together in a small bowl and spread on your bread when done. SO good.
Baking with Yeast
Active dry yeast: You’ll need to take different steps when baking bread with different yeasts. If you have active dry yeast on hand, you will need to activate it in water before adding flour (this step is included in the instructions).
Instant yeast: If you have instant yeast, you can skip dissolving it in water and stir it into your dry ingredients before adding water. Instant yeast has super small granules compared to active dry yeast so it does not need to be activated in water first.
If you love this cinnamon bread, you might also be a fan of our cranberry walnut bread! Equally as delicious and just as easy to make.
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Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe
The most delicious homemade cinnamon raisin bread! It has a doughy inside with sweet raisins and cinnamon, and a crunchy outer crust. Serve toasted with butter for absolute perfection!
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup raisins
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
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Make the dough: In an electric mixer add warm water, sugar, and yeast. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes for yeast to activate tip: sugar feeds yeast so I include it in this process. Add raisins, cinnamon, flour, and salt. Use bread mixing attachment and mix together until dough forms. If dough is too wet or dry, add water/flour 1 Tbsp at a time until right consistency.
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Let it rise: Toss dough on lightly floured surface, place in lightly greased bowl. Cover with a damp dish towel and let sit in a warm area for 3+ hours. Dough should be doubled in size. Tip: I like placing my dough in the oven with the light on (oven is off). This helps create a consistent climate for the dough while the light creates a small amount of warmth to help it rise.
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Preheat oven to 450F.
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Transfer dough: Place dough on lightly floured surface and form into ball again (keep lightly flouring your hands to prevent sticking). Lay dough on parchment paper, lightly dust paper to prevent sticking, and lift edges of paper to transfer dough into dutch oven.
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Bake: Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for 5-10 more minutes until golden brown.
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Let it cool: Remove and let bread cool for 20 minutes before slicing.
Did you make this recipe? Share your photos and tag @asimplepalate #asimplepalate.
This came out lovely!
Yay! 🙂
Should the dough rest a second time, after it’s been formed but before baking?
And should the Dutch oven be preheated before putting the dough in? Thanks
I don’t recommend preheating the dutch oven, this can result in the bottom of the bread being burned.
If your dutch oven is enamelled, it is recommended to preheat it with the oven to prevent cracking. I have read that putting a layer of loose flour in the bottom of the pot (before adding the dough in the parchment) will help reduce chancing of burning.
Thanks for the tip Terry! That’s great to know. 🙂
This was the easiest and tastiest bread I have ever made!! Really.. I added walnuts and it is so good! Will make many times, my son loved it too. If anyone is thinking about trying it, go for it. I can’t say it enough, so easy!!!
Thank you Judy! So happy to hear you enjoyed it. Love the addition of walnuts. I’ll have to try that next time! 🙂
Soooo good. Soft, moist and really easygoing!
yay!
Looks amazing! Tastes great!
awesome!
Very easy to make and tasted wonderful when all baked. I’m accustomed to measuring flour by weight so I had to guess how to measure it. Spoon in and level or scoop and level? Because I opted for spoon in and level, I had to add a lot of extra tablespoons of flour, well over 10. Will I make it again? Yes but I’ll try the scoop and level next time.
There are conversion charts on Pinterest for cups to grams/ounces 😉
Yes Janie, I as well had the same result as I plumped my raisins prior to adding them. Scoop and level is best for bread. Spoon in and level is typically for cakes.
Love this bread! Just started making bread about 4 months ago. Finally felt confident to try something other than white bread after I “mastered” it. This was a winner on the first try! I may add a little more cinnamon and raisins to the next batch, but perfect bread consistency. The house smelled gorgeous while it was baking! Thank you!
Thanks so much, Ryan! Making bread is always a fun adventure. And the more cinnamon and raisins the better in my mind! Glad you enjoyed this recipe. 🙂
Easiest bread recipe to make. Very moist inside, crunchy on the outside. After proofing it for 3 1/2 hrs, when I turned it out onto the countertop to shape, it didn’t get any higher. But, it cooked fine, bottom didn’t burn. So.. we’re all very happy with the way it came out…tasty!! Thanks Bethany
Thank you, Madee! I’m so glad to hear that! 🙂
This was easy to make, fast and dee-lish!!
So happy to hear!
Does this bread get a second rise after it’s on parchment paper and in Dutch oven, before it gets baked?
no second rise is needed!
What if you don’t have dough attachment ?
a wooden spoon and a bowl will work just fine instead. 🙂
I followed the recipe exactly, including using my 4.5 qt dutch oven. My loaf came out flat and wide. The loaf was only 2 1/4 inches high. 🙁 My yeast and flour were recently bought, the dough doubled and rose beautifully. But as soon as I gently turned it out onto the parchment paper, it lost it’s shape and spread. It stayed that shape through baking. The bread itself was truly delicious though. But I am thinking that next time I will try to get a second rise before putting it in the oven.
I’m so sorry to hear that! I’m not exactly sure what the problem could be. If you are located in an area with elevation that can always be a factor. But other than that I’m not sure since your ingredients were new!
Mine did the same thing….seemed to have rose like it should have, but then when I removed from the bowl to put in the dutch oven, flattened right out! Still cooking it to see how the flavor it. My yeast was a little older, bought in April.
Wendy, have you thought about or are you aware of proofing baskets? I just recently started using them and it eliminates this issue. At times if there is too much liquid the dough spreads.
What should you bake in if you don’t have a Dutch oven? A regular pot with lid?
I’ve not tried anything other than cast iron – but a regular pot should still get hot enough!
I have a copper chef pot with a lid that I’ve been using for all my rustic & artisan breads & they come out fantastic. They can take high heat up to 500 degrees.
what is the best size dutch oven to use? (diameter)
You can go as small as a 4 quart size!
Do you have a Dutch oven artisan bread recipe that’s no knead quick proofing?
I do not! But you could use a no knead recipe and just add the ingredients from this bread to it. 🙂
The cinnamon raisin bread is fantastic I just made French toast with it this morning😊
That’s a wonderful idea! So happy to hear you enjoyed it 🙂
It tastes great! But the bottom was burnt … I wonder if I need to turn down the oven temp just a bit !?
Interesting, haven’t had anyone have the same issue. Can always cook it for less time! Loaf should be golden brown then pull it 🙂
Mine also came out very brown on the bottom, almost burnt. This is my first time making this cinnamon raisin bread
Mine was burnt on the bottom, too.
Sprinkle flour or corneal on the bottom of the pot before cooking tills stop the bottom from getting so hot it burns and from sticking.
I just made it too and the bottom was burnt but not too bad.
How do you use active dry yeast instead in this recipe? It’s all I could find at the store 😔. Would I use the recommended recipe water to dissolve the yeast and add sugar? Or would I dissolve it first with part of the water in the recipe and then start the steps after that and use the remaining amount of water in the recipe?
You will need to let the yeast activate with the water. Instant yeast can always skip that step. 🙂
I was confused with this too as the recipe didn’t call for instant or rapid rise yeast.
Also, had to go digging through the content to find recipe recommendations for Dutch oven sizes and the yeast question was actually addressed there. Way too many ads and pop ups to make this info easy to find.
Is the bread supposed to rise for 1 hour or 3+? It says both in the recipe/description.
Sorry for the confusion. That is a change I made recently! I find the bread comes out better when rested for 3+ hours!
Came out awesome!!!
Yay! <3
Made this bread with 1 cup whole wheat flour, the rest white. Let it rise an hour a second time. Came out addictive and amazing! Will make again and again! My kids loved it! So easy. I only have dry active yeast, so I proofed it first. Next time I’ll add a little more cinnamon and soak the raisins beforehand if I have time.
Thank you, Laura! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it so much. 🙂 Soaking the raisins is a great idea!
How long did you give for the second rise?
Would love to try this bread. I have a Pampered Chef dutch oven that only goes as high as 400 degrees, will that work?
Do you need to knead it?
Nope! There is a little bit more yeast in this recipe to help it rise without kneading.
I want to make this bread for breakfast later on this week so I was going to prepare the dough and freeze it (less work to do in the morning). Can you please suggest how to deal with the frozen dough (let it thaw? will it need to rise again? cook from frozen? temp & time? )
I’ve not frozen this dough. But it should respond similar to pizza dough which freezes well. Allow it to rise as instructed, then store in a ziplock bag and freeze. Remove and let thaw and rise 1 to 2 hours before baking. That should work!
made your cinnamon raisin bread tonight turned out great. it is a keeper recipe 😊 ❤
I made this today. It was the BEST raisin bread I’ve ever tasted! I love making no-knead bread. This recipe was quick, easy, and the result was delicious. This is the first time I’ve felt the need to leave a comment……it was that good!! Thanks so much. You’ve gained a fan!
Thank you, Ellen! Super happy to hear it was such a success 🙂
I have never used parchment paper when using a Dutch oven to bake bread; I regret doing it as it left indentations in my bread with weak spots.
Sorry to hear that Vanessa! With bread you have to make sure it isn’t sticky when you lay it out on parchment. The steps for forming it into a ball should help evenly dust it with flour to not stick. Otherwise parchment paper is great for baking – but it will stick to “sticky” dough.
Would it be okay to let it rest overnight? I’m thinking I’d like to bake it and serve it warm on Christmas morning. I am looking forward to trying this recipe.
It worked great with regular flour, but not gluten free. Any tips?
I’ve unfortunately not made this bread with gluten free flour. :/
Wow. I made this somewhat haphazardly the other day. It was SO good, but I’m bought a lodge cast iron Dutch oven and making it for breakfast Tomorrow morning. I added a cup of raisins I plumped in warm water and three tablespoons of cinnamon. I love cinnamon. Used Splenda instead of sugar and it was delicious! Thank you so much!
Thanks, Tim! I’m so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
My enamel cast iron pan says it is safe to 400 degrees. Can the bread be baked for a longer period at 400 or will the pan still be safe at 450.
Amazing and easy
Thank you! So happy you enjoyed it. 🙂
Help! I have two issues – 1) I have either a 3.5 qt. dutch oven or a 9 qt. dutch oven. Which one, if any, should I use? Also, I don’t have any brown sugar. Can white sugar be used?
Your 9 qt will work! 🙂 White sugar should work fine in place on brown. Hope this helps!
No eggs. Why?
I would like to add a glaze to the loaf. What would you suggest and when would you add it
I’m curious as to why this bread need a 2nd rise? All my other recipes call for a second, shorter rise.
This is a quick rise bread – it uses a little bit more yeast than other recipes so it can respond quicker. I’ve never done a second rise because I don’t find it necessary but you can of course try it out! 🙂
Thanks so much for the reply! Making it this afternoon.
No eggs. Why?
Just made this recipe along with the honey cinnamon butter. Very easy recipe and it tastes amazing!
Can you make this without cinnamon? Would you have to use less yeast? I have a picky eater.
of course! No need to adjust anything else. Just leave out the cinnamon 🙂
Easiest bread recipe to make. Very moist inside, crunchy on the outside. After proofing it for 3 1/2 hrs, when I turned it out onto the countertop to shape, it didn’t get any higher. But, it cooked fine, bottom didn’t burn. So.. we’re all very happy with the way it came out…tasty!! Thanks Bethany
Can I use bread flour
I have not used bread flour before, but I’ve seen other readers use it in this recipe and have success!
I love this bread!! I used currant raisins 1 cup. This is the second time I have made it. I preheat the cast iron …it is wonderful
I’m so happy to hear that, Robyn! Thanks for sharing 🙂
made your cinnamon raisin bread tonight turned out great. it is a keeper recipe 😊 ❤
Thank you, Deborah! So happy to hear that 🙂
Great recipe. Easy to make and tastes great
Wonderful! Thank you, Donna!
This is my favorite bread recipe. We use to buy our raisin bread from the bakery but no more. Everyone who tastes it wants the recipe. I use 1 cup raisins instead of 2/3’s. I also preheat the Dutch Oven. Yummy!!! By accident I used current raisins the first time and that was really good as well.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you, Robyn. I’ll have to try it with currents next 🙂
Very good! I increased raisins to 1 cup (plumped first in hot water) and cinnamon to 1 tablespoon. While it spread out once in the pan, it was still perfect to look at and to eat! I plan on making these for the family for Thanksgiving gifts since we cannot celebrate together this year. Thanks for a great recipe!
If I want to use whole wheat flour what would be the portions you would recommend?
Can this be made if you don’t have a stand mixer?
yes! Just use a large bowl and a wooden spoon. 🙂
This turned out SO nicely. I used half whole wheat flour and half white flour. Added a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice since I like things with stronger spice. Otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Tastes delicious and was quite easy to prepare. Bottom of mine got dark but didn’t burn. I will definitely be making this again soon. Doubling up mostly likely so some can go in the freezer!
I made the no knead raisin bread and found it’s bottom was burned and hard. The second time I placed two baking sheets under the pot and took them out when I opened the pot lid during the last 15 minutes. The loaf came out perfect, the crust was crispy but not burned.
Hi mary! My only answer is every oven is different. So I would keep an eye on the loaf after the is removed. Once it’s golden brown it should be good! I’m glad you found a way to prevent it from not burning!
Super easy and delicious! I saved time on the 3 hrs rising part by wrapping my bowl with a heating pad. Doubled its size in 1 hr 50 minutes .
So glad to hear it!
Can you use bread flour instead of all purpose flour?
I’ve not used it in this recipe but you can certainly try it out!
Hi Bethany – I’m excited to try your recipe after baking lots our sourdough no-knead loaves in my trusty Lodge casserole.
Question for you: I see that in your No-Knead Cranberry Walnut bread you use 1/2 tsp. of yeast, and this recipe calls for 1.5 tsps. Also the salt ratios are different 1 tsp. vs 1/2 tsp. I’m curious why the quantities are different as the flour/water quantities are the same. Thanks so much – I want to make sure I use enough yeast but not too much. Happy Thanksgiving from Port Townsend, WA
Hey Frances! The reason this loaf has more yeast in it then my no knead bread is because the more yeast makes for a quicker rise. This bread should be done rising in about 3 hours. But the cranberry bread has less yeast so that the fermentation process can happen naturally over a longer period of time. Hope that helps!
Thanks so much for the quick reply and explanation! I’ll opt for less yeast/longer ferment and report back! Both recipes are on my ‘to bake’ list this month! With gratitude, Frances
Would this recipe work in a bread cloche? I have an Emile Henry and I’m excited to try it with this recipe.
anything with a lid should work! 🙂
FANtastic recipe! I made the bread dough the night before. I coated a large bowl with EVOO, placed dough in bowl, brushed top with EVOO, covered with plastic wrap, then let it rise in the fridge overnight (this is how I “lazy” rise). Next morning, reshaped the dough with a little flour and placed in a parchment-lined dutch oven (dough was cold). I lightly brushed it with a little flour on top. Preheated my oven 450 degrees and reduced the temp 400 degrees once I put the dough in the oven. (my brand of parchment paper is safe up to 400 degrees) Baked 30 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered. For the ingredients, I added 4 T brown sugar and one cup of raisins. The taste and texture was amazing! Thank you for sharing!
So easy to make and incredibly tasty!
Do you sift your flour before mixing
You don’t need to but you can!
This bread is a family staple! My husband and son gobble it up in a couple days! My only recommendations would to be have the total salt be 1 tsp and add one more tablespoon of brown sugar. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Has anyone tried to make this gluten free? Any tweaks or adjustments you would recommend?
I did do a second rising cast iron dutch oven. It seemed to need some more rising (it looked great until I put it in the dutch oven when it sank a bit.) My husband cannot stop eating it. Really delicious. I used craisins since I didn’t have since I didn’t have raisins.
This bread is sooo good! Thank you.
so happy to hear it!
Since I don’t have a Dutch oven and don’t want one I made this with about 1/4 cup more flour and maybe a Tablespoon less water and baked it in a 9 by 5 bread pan. Baked it at 360 for about 35-40 min. Let set 15 minutes and turned it out onto a rack to cool. Super good.
Can I let this proof overnight, or up to 24 hours like other no knead recipes?
yes! I would place it in the fridge while it rises, this will help the yeast slow down.
This has been the best Cinnamon Raisin Bread I’ve ever made. I would have given you 10 but no room. Thank you👍
Thanks so much Diana! So happy to hear it 🙂
Made this yesterday to have for breakfast today! It turned out great. I like my raisin bread a tiny bit sweeter and a tiny bit more cinnamony, so after toasting my slices and buttering, I sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon that I keep in my pantry. I was marvelous, and it will take a lot of willpower to not devour the rest today. I did cut and slice half of the loaf for the freezer for future easy breakfasts. Yummy!
So happy to hear it! I also very much enjoy this as toast for breakfast. Thank you, Ginny! 🙂
Love this recipe. I soak the raisins in dark rum over night, drain and add. It is amazing!
And of course make the cinnamon honey butter to go along with it. My family looks forward to really cold days knowing I will make this bread.
Bread tastes yummy but bottom was a bit too brown. Used an enamel Dutch oven which had to be preheated along with the oven. Next time, I might try baking for a few less minutes before browning with the cover off.
Hi Nancy! Next time if you preheat the pot, double layer it with parchment paper. It will prevent the bottom from burning!
I made this again and placed an insulated cookie sheet under the Dutch oven. The bottom of the bread came out perfectly browned. Also added flour to the Dutch oven as suggested.
I love this recipe and the results probably because I love rustic style breads. the only thing I had trouble with is the bottom cooking too much. Thanks for the tip to use a layer of flour; I am going to try that today and see if it works for me! If not, I just take the bottom off when I slice it before I eat it…I still love it!
hi sue! So glad you love the recipe. A tip you can do to prevent the bottom from browning is using 2 layers of parchment paper. That should help it from cooking too fast! Hope this helps.
Works great! Love the comment about adding brown sugar to help activate the yeast!
So sorry to hear that, it actually should be the right amount if measured correctly.
You say to. cover and bake for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for 5-10 more minutes until golden brown then…
Bake: Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for 5-10 more minutes until golden brown. I am wondering if you do this twice or you really do bake for 30 min uncover and bake for 4-10 min until golden brown and then do this all over again? I just need you to answer this as I want to start baking this tomorrow. Thank you.
Hi Lorraine! That was an error made on my part when I recently updated the instructions. You will need to cover it and bake once, then uncovered for 5-10 minutes! So sorry for the confusion. 🙂
Step (1) of the recipe says the dough should be the “right consistency.” What consistency is that?
Just made the bread….very tasty although was quite dense. Maybe should have let it rise longer??
As long as the dough is gently handled it shouldn’t need a second rise!
Worked perfect, baking is a great C19 escape. Thank you!
wonderful! thank you, steve. 🙂
I made this bread today but with cranberries instead of raisins! My husband had eaten up all of the raisins in his cereal! It came out deliciously! The smell of it baking in the oven could drive you mad with want! I made the honey cinnamon butter and spread it all over the loaf as soon as it came out of the oven! After cooling, I cut it and it tastes like the Jamaican sticky bun!
Any chance you could make this without an electric mixer? I don’t have one and usually mix by hand.
Hi just wondering can I leave it to proof overnight in the refrigerator?
yes! Should work just fine.
I just made this bread this morning. I used GF flour & let it sit in my oven with light 💡 on! Excellent idea by the way.
Bread was delicious! Best recipe i have found!
I love this recipe but wondered why do you put the rise time at only 3+ hours when it seems all no knead dutch oven recipes including your cranberry walnut have at least 10+ hours for rise. Just wondered because I’d love to have a shorter raise time so I could eat bread sooner, haha, but because of not kneading I always wait at least 12 hours, especially when not using instant yeast. Thank you for your amazing recipes and all the work you do to bring them to us.
Can you make this in traditional bread pans?
This was excellent and so easy! I like that I didn’t have to let it sit for 12 hours before baking. Definitely a keeper!
Really happy you enjoyed it! Thanks so much, Michelle 🙂
Hi! So I just tried this, my first time baking bread too, and I’m not sure what I did wrong. The inside is different colors, like some of it looks almost wet or denser, but the outside is way crispy and perfect. Is there something I’m doing wrong that I’m just not realizing?
Hi Mikaela! I’m sorry the bread didn’t turn out. That’s usually not the case! Since I’m not able to see it, it’s always hard to diagnose the precise problem. Was the bread ingredients mixed properly? And did you let the bread cool for the full 20 minutes after baking? This step usually helps the bread bake fully while it sits and rests.
Made this for my hubby and was amazed at how easy it was!! I plumped the raisins before and add more cinnamon than called for and it came out perfectly. No burning on the bottom, and I even used a regular pot with a bake sheet on top instead of a Dutch oven!
I prefer to use honey vs brown sugar. Would you recommend 3T of honey or a different amount?