Our pumpkin cinnamon swirl bread is made with canned pumpkin and a blend of warm spices. My tip for achieving perfect swirls will revolutionize your bread-making game.
Here are three more fall favorites: our quick-rise pumpkin cinnamon rolls, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, and pumpkin streusel muffins.
Nothing is more comforting than a loaf of warm bread, and my absolute favorite bread is cinnamon bread. In fact, my cinnamon swirl bread is one of the oldest bread recipes on my site. This pumpkin version adds canned pumpkin and fall spices to the yummy cinnamon swirls that go throughout the entire loaf of bread. It's absolute perfection.
Why I Like This Recipe
- Basic ingredients. I make this recipe with items that I'm sure you already have on hand. No need for milk or eggs either. This bread is made with water and is soft, delicious, and light.
- Full of cinnamon flavor. The cinnamon swirls bake right into the dough, giving you cinnamon flavor in every bite.
- Makes the best toast. Not only is this bread delicious when sliced fresh, but it also makes fantastic toast. Toasting it really brings out the pumpkin spices.
What Others Are Saying
I love how this bread turned out! What a great idea to add pumpkin and the swirly bits. I enjoy baking bread and this will be an addition to my bread recipes that I will happily make year around. To save time/trouble I just used pumpkin pie spice...Thanks for a great recipe that was easy to make.--CC
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Tips and Tricks
- Use water for perfect cinnamon swirls. Many people brush butter onto the dough, then sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar, but when the loaf bakes up, the swirls come apart. The trick is to use water. Yes, water! Spritz the dough with water before sprinkling with cinnamon and sugar. Then spritz once more before rolling the dough up into a loaf shape. The swirls and layers stay together, making it a breeze to slice the bread! Just use a small amount of water in a spray bottle to spritz the dough, it really is that easy.
- Bread-making tip: if you don't have a stand mixer. Stand mixers make mixing and kneading a breeze, but not everyone has one. I like mixing my dough by hand using my Danish dough whisk. If you're a die-hard wooden spoon fan, I challenge you to try a dough whisk. Works like a dream to mix the dough, and then you can knead it by hand.
- Letting the dough rise: The dough will rise faster in a warm spot. I preheat my oven for 1 minute, then shut the heat off. It makes the oven just warm enough for the dough to rise.
Ingredients
- Water: Many bread recipes call for milk. I often use milk in roll recipes, such as my Texas roadhouse rolls, which I want to be soft and rich. However, for bread, I typically use water.
- Yeast: You can use instant yeast or active-dry yeast. I prefer instant yeast, but proof the yeast no matter what type I use.
- Sugar: Sugar adds a bit of sweetness to the bread. You can just reduce it by half if you'd like, or use honey, but don't omit it altogether.
- Salt: For flavoring.
- Oil: Vegetable or canola oil works well.
- Pumpkin puree: 100% pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Flour: You can use all-purpose flour or bread flour.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves: I like using my own blend of spices, but you could also use pumpkin pie spice.
- Cinnamon and sugar: A mixture of cinnamon and sugar is the base for the delicious swirls in the dough.
- Spray bottle with water: This is my secret weapon for achieving perfect swirls.
- Butter: Just a small amount to brush over the loaves as they come out of the oven.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Step 1: Mix water, yeast, and sugar. Allow to sit 5 minutes or until the yeast looks foamy.
Step 2: Add remaining dough ingredients and mix in a stand mixer or with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed and a soft dough forms.
Step 3: Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes by hand, 3 minutes if using a bread hook on your stand mixer).
Step 4: Add 1 Tbsp. oil to bowl, place dough into the bowl, and coat dough on both sides. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warmed oven. Let rise for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Step 5: Once your dough has doubled in size, dump it onto your workspace. Divide into two sections. Roll each section into a 9x13 rectangle. Combine cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and sugar in a small bowl. Lightly spritz dough with water.
Step 6: Sprinkle sugar and spices over dough. Then spritz the layer of sugar and spices with a little more water from the spray bottle. This will help the sugar spices stick to the dough. Roll dough tightly into a log. Pinch ends tightly to close, as well as the seam.
Step 7: Place into greased bread pans, seam side down. Let rise for 40 minutes. Bake loaves for 30-35 minutes. Rub the top of each loaf with softened butter.
Pumpkin Swirl Bread FAQs
I always use bread flour or all-purpose, whichever one I have on hand. My favorite brand is King Arthur. You can use all white flour or a mixture of white and wheat flour. I have not used this recipe for 100% whole wheat bread, but I'm sure you could.
A warm place is a perfect place for yeast to do its thing. I preheat my oven for 60 seconds then shut the heat off. I place my bowl of dough with a damp cloth or plastic wrap (that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) covering it inside my oven.
Many people brush butter onto the dough, then sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar, but when the loaf bakes up, the swirls come apart. The trick is to use water. Yes, water! Spritz the dough with water before sprinkling with cinnamon and sugar. Then spritz once more before rolling the dough up into a loaf shape. The swirls and layers stay together, and it makes slicing the bread a breeze!
More Pumpkin Bread Recipes
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Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 4 ½ teaspoon yeast 2 packets
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 6 cups bread flour
Extra ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- ½ cup sugar mixed in a small bowl
- 2 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- spray bottle with water
- butter for brushing on baked loaves
Instructions
- Mix water, yeast and sugar. Allow to sit 5 minutes or until yeast looks foamy.
- Add remaining dough ingredients and mix in stand mixer or with wooden spoon until evenly distributed.
- Knead dough on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. Note: you may need a littel more flour (¼ cup) to prevent the dough from being too sticky to work with. Add 1 tablespoon of canola oil to the bowl. Place dough in bowl, turn to coat both sides.
- Cover with a warm cloth and let rise for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Once your dough has doubled in size, dump it onto your work space.
- Divide into two sections.
- Roll each section into a 9x13 rectangle. Lightly spritz dough with water.
- In a small bowl combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves. Sprinkle with 4T cinnamon sugar mixture over each rolled out loaf.
- Then spritz with a little more water from the spray bottle. (This will help the sugar and cinnamon mixture stick to the dough.)
- Roll dough tightly into a log. Pinch ends tightly to close, as well as the seam.
- Place into greased bread pans, seam side down.
- Let rise for 40 minutes.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake loaves for 30-35 minutes.
- Brush loaves with butter then remove bread from pans and cool on a cooling rack.
CC says
I love how this bread turned out! What a great idea to add pumpkin and the swirly bits. I enjoy baking bread and this will be an addition to my bread recipes that I will happily make year around. To save time/trouble I just used pumpkin pie spice. I didn't measure when I put in on the bread before rolling up, but I will need to put more next time to bring out the spice flavor. I used brown sugar instead of granulated, as I love brown sugar.
Thanks for a great recipe that was easy to make.
Brandy says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the pumpkin bread! 🙂