Chocolate Cinnamon Raisin Christmas Bread
TIPS: 1) Have all ingredients at room temperature. 2) Aerate your flour before measuring. 3) Chocolate burns easily - melt is slowly.
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Makes: 1 loaf
Ingredients:
- 2 cups bread flour (all purpose flour works too)
- 1 packet (2 tsp/7 gm) instant yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup milk (low fat or whole milk) heated to 120-130° F
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- about 1/2 cup additional flour
- 3/4 cup moist golden raisins (I use Sun-Maid)
- 1 1/2 ounces sweet dark chocolate (I use part of a 63% chocolate bar)
- 3 Tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter at room temperature
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process is best)
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- Egg wash: 1 egg yolk + 1 teaspoon water
- Glaze: 1/2 cup powdered sugar + about 1 Tablespoon milk
Instructions:
- Melt the 1 1/2 ounces dark chocolate and set aside to cool.
- Combine flour, yeast, sugar & salt in a mixing bowl.
- Add warm milk followed by oil, egg, and vanilla.
- Beat with electric mixer on medium-high for 2 minutes.
- Stir in enough flour to form a mass, followed by raisins.
- Transfer to a floured surface and knead 100 turns (2 minutes).
- Cover dough with plastic and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Meantime, line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Combine cooled chocolate and softened butter & set aside. In a small cup, combine brown sugar, cocoa & cinnamon. Set aside.
- Divide dough in half and roll/stretch each half into a rough 9-inch square.
- Spread each square with butter/chocolate mixture all the way to edges. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top, all the way to the edges.
- Roll each half into a long strip, place the strips side by side and twist them into a spiral loaf, tucking in the edges. (see photos)
- Place into the loaf pan. Cover with plastic and let rise in a warm spot for 45 minute to 1 hour until it doubles in size.
- Brush top of loaf with egg wash. Bake in preheated oven at 375° F for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes, cover with a foil tent to prevent over-browning.
- Remove to a cooling rack and let rest 10 minutes. Top with glaze.
Want How-To Photos for this recipe? Click here.
I have made this bread for the last three years (including this year). It is delicious. However, I use my family recipe for the bread dough. It get raves and friends say “are you making the Christmas bread this year?” I make 4 loaves and it disappears quickly.
Hi, what is your family bread recipe please and thanks in advance
Could I use semi sweet baking chocolate?
OMG. This sooo good !!! Followed the super easy directions and it came out perfect. Jenny I am such a fan. Love your recipes. I belong to a kitchen/ food group and have been sharing your recipes with my friends. Thank you
Enjoy your recipes! Got everything for the lemon brownies.
Can I use fresh yeast instead? If so how many grams?
Can i freeze this bread?
Thank you.
You did it again, Jenny…..absolutely DELICIOUS !!! Made it last night, had it as a dessert after my stuffed cabbage dinner. I usually don’t like chocolate in a cinnamon raisin bread, but this was fantastic! I melted semi sweet Dove dark chocolate, instead of sweet chocolate and it was delish! I usually follow your recipe exactly but that was what I had in the house. Four people ate….. 2 small pieces left, haha…..so good! This would have been a great video, Jen. Miss you ☹️
I made this bread today and baked it for 30 minutes per your instructions. The top was gorgeous but the bottom and sides were nearly burnt and when it had cooled and was cut, the middle seemed a bit underdone. My oven is calibrated correctly. What do you think about baking it at a lower temp for a longer time?
It turns out for me every time. I wonder if you either changed something in the recipe or used a glass or dark metal pan. Let me know…
I did use a dark metal pan. My bad, huh? Would a Pyrex pan solve the problem?
Also… I went noodling around your site last night and saw the cinnamon swirl bread recipe. It’s pretty similar to this one but rolled in one piece from the short side and baked at 350 rather than 375. Assuming I can roll this chocolate cinnamon raisin dough the same way (easier for a klutz), would I bake it at 350?
Thanks, Jenny.
Hi !
I just wanted to let you know that I made the cinnamon and brown sugar twist one and ooooooh it’s fabulous! Definitely make it. I had an idea…..you could put whatever you like, roll it and twist it! At least I think we could… :-).
Going to try this chocolate bread recipe tomorrow and instead of cinnamon, I am going to use this shi shi espresso powder I bought from KingArthurFlour. Hmmm ?! Jenny is The Best ! I gather all items and then
I watch her videos. This way I see exactly what she is doing and using….u just cannot fail. I can now make things! 🙂
🙂
Hi Jenny
my grand daughters 10 and 12, and I love watching your videos. Wish there were more of them. Made this bread today but forgot the raisins. Didn’t matter, it was sinfully yummy!
Carol
Amazing be recipe. It turned out perfect. I may add a little orange zest to the chocolate next time. Love your recipes. Thank you.
Jenny,
Thank you so very much for your Absolutely Wonderful Culinary Creativity. I enjoy all your Beautiful Recipes. I’m putting in a request for any Diabetic Recipes you may have. I usually tweek your recipes where sugar is involved. Thank you again. ♥️?
Thanks for this and all your recipes. Can this be accomplished with a standing mixer? Thanks
Jenny I will be making this bread for the Holidays. However, I will be using part of the “family recipe” Polish bread that my grandmother taught my dad and he taught all of us. This will be a nice surprise for my family. Can’t wait to serve to my family
*thud*
I make your cinnamon raisin bread every now and then and after your reader photo the other day, I pulled out the recipe to make soon. But now this one looks like it has my name all over it!
What to do, what to do… 🙂
Jenny, I enjoy your you tube recipe presentations. I appreciate how you try to make them healthy and/or simple. I remember watching your television talk show some years ago. I wonder where you got this latest recipe and wonder if I will like something with cinnamon and chocolate together? Thanks and keep on cooking!
Every recipe I post is something I create myself and make for myself at home.
You didn’t say what size loaf pan as there are so many different sizes.
The size of the pan doesn’t matter much because the dough will fill out most standard loaf pans but mine is 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 4 3/4 across the bottom.
Looks wonderful, Jenny. Thank you. Just one question: Seems to me that if the glaze is applied to bread when it’s just ten minutes out of the oven, it will sink in. Is that what’s supposed to happen? On the other hand, if it’s applied when the bread is cool, will it stay on the top and harden?
Hi Jenny!
Thank you so very much for this new recipe, I can’t wait to try it. I love the fact that every single one of your recipes WORKS, and they are all delicious, too! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.
Be well,
Kat’s Mom
So nice to get an email from you Jenny!
Another recipe that the grandkids will enjoy baking with me! Perfect timing! Thank you. ????
Jenny, I am always so delighted when I see that your recipes aren’t as over loaded with sugar as most other recipes for similar items are. I’m diabetic but that doesn’t mean I have to cut sugar out of my life all together. Thanks for posting such wonderful recipes.
WOW thank you Jenny , you sent this just in time for me,i was just searching for something like this on the internet, and whalla, here it came to me ,,, I am going to make this tomorrow, gosh it looks so good, and will freeze a few , ty ty ty will have guests for Christmas and this couldn’t have come at a better time , you are great smiling .
Hey Jen
I have really been into baking naturally fermented bread these days. But i just wanted something yummy and easy for my grandchildren would want to make and eat. Yummers I will eat it also
Thank you it was just the recipe I needed and easy and quick.
Cheers to ? baking ????
Karin ?