Amish Cinnamon Bread

This Amish Cinnamon Bread is an easy quick bread version of Amish friendship bread with no yeast or sourdough starter required.  It’s a warm and fuzzy loaf cake that exudes comfort, love, and caring.  It’s like a big hug baked up in a loaf pan.

This simple cinnamon quick bread makes two loaves; one to keep, and one to give.

The soul of Amish friendship bread is sharing, and this simplified no yeast version makes sharing so much easier.  Gift a loaf to a friend, a neighbor, a first responder…whoever’s making a positive impact on your life these days. I believe that more is not always better when it comes to baking, and this no-frills cinnamon bread is as delicious as anything that will ever come out of your oven.  The pure flavor of zesty cinnamon is rich, warm, and so inviting.  It’s definitely the star of this recipe.

Cinnamon is such an interesting spice.  On the one hand it’s the most ho-hum of baking ingredients, but on the other it can be powerful and exotic when you actually let it shine (it even has a hint of heat.)  A tablespoon of cinnamon gives just the right punch of flavor to this bread.

Why I use Saigon cinnamon in this bread

• Saigon cinnamon is one of several common types of cinnamon used in cooking.  It’s got a stronger, spicier flavor than the common ground cinnamon you’ll find in the spice aisle of the grocery store.  It has a little bit of a peppery edge, which I love.
• You can now find different types of cinnamon in bigger grocery stores, so check them out and see which ones you love.  Mine is from McCormick.

One of my favorite things about this bread is the crackly crust that forms on top as it bakes.

It shatters when you slice into it, and that’s part of the charm ~ those little crispy bits are heaven!  Theoretically you should let a quick bread cool before digging in, but I can never manage that.  There’s something magical about slicing into warm bread; I think it has everything to do with the aroma and big moist crumbs falling every which way.  The messier it gets, the better 🙂

Note: this is a sweet bread, and yes, there is a lot of sugar in the recipe but remember, you’re making two loaves, and this is meant to be a special gift-worthy treat.

What does sugar do in a quick bread recipe?

Sugar does much more than just sweeten baked goods.  It affects texture, making it moister and more tender.  It helps muffins, quick breads, and cakes etc. to rise higher.  It promotes an appealing browning.  And most of all it enhances the flavor.

How can you reduce the amount of sugar in this bread?

You can experiment with reducing the amount of sugar by about 1/3 without too much trouble,  King Arthur Flour recommends reducing sugar to no more than 50% (by weight) of the flour in a quick bread recipe.

Taste of Home recommends switching out one egg white for an extra yolk when trying to reduce sugar in a recipe ~ the extra yolk replaces the lost moisture.

You can try subbing in maple syrup or honey (about 3/4 cup for each cup of sugar) but you may need to reduce the liquid a bit to make this work.

Use Stevia, a plant based sugar alternative, and follow the package instructions for baking substitutions.

When reducing sugar this bread, don’t skip the top sprinkle ~ it adds nice crunch and will help boost the sweet experience even if you’ve used less sugar in the body of the bread.

Ok, ‘nuf said about this bread, it’s good, make it.  You’ll be happy.

Other quick breads to try

• One Banana Banana Bread

• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bread

• Easy Apple Fritter Bread

• Cranberry Orange Bread

• Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bread