Giant Loaf Soft & Fluffy Cinnamon Raisin Bread

These insane new bread recipes are easily the MOST complicated and frustrating projects I have possibly ever taken on.. I lose my mind sometimes through the testing process but then am in total and complete awe of what I created when I finish them.

This HUGE soft beautiful loaf of cinnamon raisin bread is even better than the G.O.A.T Sandwich bread. It rises almost an inch taller. The photos speak for themselves.. it looks real & it tastes real. You cant buy a bread like this or find another recipe like it online. This loaf looks and tastes like something you would buy at a local bakery (that isn’t gluten free).

I’m VERY excited for this recipe and cant wait to see it being made in your kitchens!

This photo I took from my iPhone so it doesn’t have the same look as the others - but I really liked it & wanted to include it anyways. (The others were shot with my professional camera and a macro lens that captures every little detail! :)

Important tips & tricks

Precision precision precision is the only way to go. Even 5 grams difference in flour (which I tested out on purpose) prevented the loaf from rising by almost an inch and a half. For this reason I am only including grams for the recipe. I encourage you to go slow- and make sure to get each number exactly as I have called for. Don’t do the whole “Eh this is close enough” thing. Get the numbers exact. The payoff is so worth the effort.

YES, yes, yes you even need to weigh the egg whites!! I know it seems like too much to worry about. But its important. 5-10 grams difference in any ingredient can completely change the recipe.

The Gluten Free bread pan that I used makes or breaks the recipe. A soft and tall gluten free bread like this one absolutely needs tall walls to climb in order to actually end up tall. A regular bread pan just won’t do.. I wouldn't even bother. What makes this recipe so special is its height and the gorgeous air bubbles that develop in the process, A Pullman loaf pan would be the second best option. But I would order this pan immediately. I will use them in future bread recipes as well. (My next project is a cinnamon swirl bread!) PLEASE consider buying this pan before making this bread. Your results will not be the same without it.

Give the dough time to really rise to its full height. It needs to rise 1/2 inch or so ABOVE the top of the pan. All sides may not reach that height but the center needs to. In the winter this can take some time. Using a hot box method with some steamy water can make a big difference though. This allowed me to get it fully risen even on cold days in about 90 minutes or so. I will explain this method in the directions.

*IF you have a pizza stone I found a cool little trick is to warm that with the oven initially then place the bread on top of it (with potholders in between) This keeps the oven perfectly warm the whole proofing time. Then I remove the stone before baking. This step is completely optional.

Use the correct ingredients. PLEASE use what I have called for. This is not a flexible recipe… of course you can experiment but I don’t recommend it.

The bread may collapse a little after the oven is turned off. The reason it collapses a little is due to how soft the bread is. Which is part of its magic. So- don’t stress if it happens. Do, be patient and let it cool entirely before slicing into it as doing that too early will make it collapse completely!!

This bread needs HOURS to cool. I know, I know its SO hard to be patient. Giving it time to slowly cool down also gives it time to properly set up. Early slicing will always cause sinking and collapsing. If you want a tall, airy loaf of bread PLEASE use every ounce of patience and wait! I have found its ideal to make it In the evening. Let it cool for an hour or two leaving it IN its pan. Then after that I loosely cover it with tinfoil and leave it out on the counter or stove overnight. The next morning its ready to be sliced! After slicing I wrap it up or put it in a ziplock bag and leave it out for 4-5 days as we eat out way through it. If you don’t think you can eat it that quickly I recommend slicing it up- and wrapping it up nicely in a freezer safe bag and then pull it out piece by piece as you want some. You can toast it or eat it as is even after its been frozen.

The hot box method for proofing the dough is essential especially in the winter if you live up north like I do. Otherwise the bread could take a full day to rise. This is a big loaf so it really needs the perfect warm & humid environment to rise to its full potential. The hot box method is simple- I preheat the oven while making the dough, then as soon as the dough is done I turn it off. I place the bread into the warm oven (the pan always covered with a towel) and leave the door a crack for 5-10 minutes so that its not TOO hot. Then I close it for an hour. Gluten free bread needs about 50% more moisture and dries out easily. A dry dough- even if just the outside layer is dry can stop rising completely. This is why I like to also add a bowl of steaming hot water to the oven right before I close the door for the hour of slow proofing. It really makes a BIG difference. When I use the steaming bowl of water added I easily got an extra half inch in height.

IF you want to take the time halfway through the hour of proofing to reheat that water in the microwave and stick it back in the oven to get another nice burst of steam you can. This may be a good idea if you cant resist peaking in and checking on your breads progress.

Using a stand mixer works best. If you don’t have one or cant get one a hand mixer will work in a pinch. Its important to get the dough really well mixed.

Making the dough in advance. You can totally do this. You can make the dough and place it in a TIGHTLY sealed container and stick it in the fridge for up to 48 hours. You may want to give your container a quick spritz of oil as this dough is very very sticky. Then, when you are ready to bake it place it in the pan and follow the rest of the directions. Making it ahead is wonderful for the flavor. It acts as a slow first proof for the dough. Doing this is completely optional.

Ingredients (Some of these are affiliate links that earn me a few cents if you shop using them! :)

Better Batter Gluten Free Orginal Blend

This flour blend continues to amaze me. It can do so many things better than most other blends that I have tried. As a result its extremely popular. Around the holidays it tends to sell out everywhere and so they are in the process of restocking right now. Usually its available on Amazon and at Walmart. Lately I have been ordering it from the Better Batter website directly. When they sell out- they tend to restock pretty quickly. Check back within a day or two if they are sold out when you look. I buy it in bulk now (20 lbs at a time) as I cant risk running out. I use it in too many recipes that we love.

What if you cant get your hands on it? This may be the case if you live outside the US. My friend Nichole from Gluten Free on a Shoestring has figured out a mock recipe for better batter. Her version should work great in this recipe! The owner (Naomi) of better batter has confirmed that the mix is similar to the official version.

Better Batter so kindly offered me a 35% off promo code to share with all of you! This can be used as often as you would like for every single purchase made directly on BetterBatter.com Use the code: BakingAngell35

Expandex

This bread is truly only possible because of the magic of expandex. It is a modified form of tapioca starch that was formulated to improve gluten free baking. The word Modified tends to worry people- so let me explain further. Essentially they studied tapioca and removed portions of it leaving only the parts that would allow for it to cause amazing elasticity (aka its name) in gluten free recipes. This flour allows me to get an incredible rise with everything I use it in. It traps the air bubbles in the dough just like regular flour with gluten does! Its honestly incredible. If you eat any processed or store bought foods you have eaten many forms of modified starch. Its nothing new- its just semi new to the home baker. Its non gmo and I typically get it from the brand Judee’s on amazon. Under no conditions can you sub it out for another regular starch.

Outside of the US there is a product called Ultratex 3 I have not worked with it but from what I understand its comparable! I would use that in the exact same quantity as the expandex amount that I call for.

Yeast: I recently learned about a special yeast made for sweet breads. Breads with sugar that are higher in fat have a harder time rising and typically take much longer to do so. Which means that this yeast has some extra oomph to it. Which gives me confidence that it could really benefit gluten free bread recipes. This is a sweet bread recipe- so it will benefit this bread in particular. https://amzn.to/3AQPMsZ

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of getting that specific bag- any brand will do. Just make sure that its fast acting or listed as instant.

Xanthan gum: I recently read somewhere that all brands of xanthan don’t work the same. I didn’t know this as I have always just purchased bobs. So- I would stick with bobs for this recipe and all of my recipes.

Oil- Any mild flavored oil will work great. Avocado oil. Vegetable oil or even olive oil.

Milk - While I think that most dairy free unsweetened milks will work just fine, the only thing I tested was oat milk so far. I used both full fat and original from oatly and had the same results. If you are not dairy free i’m guessing regular milk would work just fine as well.

Sugar- REAL Sugar is important. Its what feeds the yeast and makes this bread possible. I do not recommend swapping in a liquid sweetener as that could throw off the recipe. Please don’t use any keto sugars or even coconut palm sugar. It may not work as well.

This bread IS GOING to stick to the pan. I know.. it probably seems weird that I’m ok with that and am posting the recipe anyways. The first time I nailed this bread down I couldn’t believe how perfect it was and couldn’t get it out of the dang pan!! I was so mad. Then I went on a mission trying parchment paper and oil.. and those two tries were a huge flop.. they were dense and gummy!

I discovered that the fact the bread sticks to the pan is what allows it to get SO tall and majestic. This loaf is even bigger than the plain sandwich bread one. The sugar helps it cling to the walls of the pan which allows the crumb structure to hold its air bubbles even while the bread cools.

Here is my solution:

I cut out a piece of parchment to fit into the bottom of the pan perfectly. It doesn’t go up the sides at all- it only covers the bottom. I knew as long as the bottom was not stuck I would be able to carefully cut around the edges and loosen the bread out.

So that’s exactly what you will need to do. After the bread has COMPLETELY cooled (please be patient- if you aren’t your bread will collapse). first you will trim around the top portion of the pan using a knife gently loosing it. Then stick the knife down into the bottom park best you can to loosen around there. This should allow you to carefully lift off the top piece! Then- work your way around the bottom section of the pans sides. Once all the sides have been loosened the bread will come right out as its not stuck on the bottom.