Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I could never be on a no-carb or even low-carb diet. I love bread. In all its many splendid shapes and beautiful varieties. Cinnamon Swirl Bread happens to be a family favorite. And if we somehow manage to have any left-over, the next day I make french toast with it. MMMmmmm, that's some good stuff, I'm telling you! Thanks to Annette Winslow who is famous for her bread and made hand-outs with her recipes for everyone in our ward (church congregation.) I have made this many times.

BASIC WHITE BREAD:

1/2 cup warm water
2 packages (or 2 tbsp) rapid rise yeast
2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp salt
5-7 cups flour ( I have used both bread flour and regular All-Purpose, both work well)

Dissolve yeast in warm water, let it get foamy, set aside. Heat milk but do not boil (this is called scalding.) When milk cools to lukewarm, pour into large mixing bowl and add butter and egg. Then add yeast mixture, sugar and salt. Mix well. Add flour one cup at a time until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is easy to handle. Knead dough for 10 minutes. Let rise, covered, in a warm place for 1 hour. Punch the dough down and let rise for another hour. Knead for another 5 minutes.

Here's where you make it cinnamon-y swirl-y wonderful. Or you can skip the cinnamon/sugar and just make plain ol' white bread which is always a treat too.

Divide dough in half, roll out each part into a small rectangle. Spread 2 tbsp butter over the dough and sprinkle 2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 sugar over the buttered dough. Roll back up, place seam side down in a greased loaf pan.

Let rise for another 20-30 minutes before baking at 350 for 30 minutes. Makes 2 loaves.