I wish I hadn’t played Betty Crocker and experimented with this.  Now I’m hooked, and there’s no going back.  I’ve made cinnamon swirl bread for years using my own bread recipe and my family loves it.  

But I kept hearing rumblings about this amazing Chunky Cinnamon Bread at a local bakery/restaurant called Kneader’s.  Curiosity reeled me in I’m afraid.  It started with some undercover detective work.  I went through the drive-thru and ordered a loaf, then took it home to analyze it.  Yup.  It was goooooood.  On to an internet search.

I found that ABC4 aired a program a few years back where they duplicated the french toast recipe using Kneader’s bread.  But I wanted the BREAD recipe - anyone can make french toast. 

I thought it should be a sweeter dough than your common bread dough.  I searched around for a recipe without eggs, because that would make it taste too much like a cinnamon roll.   I found the Pioneer Woman’s recipe for Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Frosting.  It sounded promising, but I don’t like to scald milk and WAIT till it cools.  I’m busy and I’m not that patient.  So I decided to try the method I’ve always used in my good old standby bread recipe (HERE).  In this recipe, I substitute dry milk, combined it with all the dry ingredients (including the yeast), and add very hot tap water. 

Now I had to decide how to make the bread truly CHUNKY.  Another internet search, and again success.  The Village Restaurant & Bakery in Shaver Lake, CA has been baking their version of Chunky Bread for years, and although they don’t publish the recipe - I found their technique described (HERE).  So - I combined the method with my changed recipe and this is the result. 

You can’t help but love it.  I didn’t drizzle it with powdered sugar glaze -

it would have been just too much sugar overkill.  See the Kneader’s Loaf compared with mine at the bottom - then make your own comparison. 

My daughter & husband thought mine was lighter and tasted homemade.  My son summed it up like this... “Mom.  You pretty much copied it.”

*This recipe makes about 6 standard size loaves - depending on your definition of “standard”... My standard pans are 5” x 9” - about 5” deep.

Check the next post for ways to use this chunky bread for breakfast...

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups nonfat dry milk

1 cup sugar

2 Tbs active dry yeast

8 cups (+ or - ) all purpose flour

1 tsp (heaping) baking powder

1 tsp (scant) baking soda

1 Tbs salt

4 cups HOT tap water

1 cup vegetable oil

Filling:

1 cup melted butter

2 cups sugar

2 Tbs cinnamon

brown sugar

additional melted butter if needed

Directions:

Combine dry milk, 1 cup sugar, 2 Tbs yeast, 5 cups of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of a large mixer (I use my large capacity Bosch bread mixer)

Cover with lid, and pulse till dry ingredients are well mixed.

Add the 4 cups hot water and the vegetable oil.  Pulse gently at lowest speed until barely combined.  Scrape down sides and continue beating until smooth. 

Add enough additional flour until the dough cleans the sides of the mixing bowl. 

Add about 2 Tbs vegetable oil to the bottom of a large mixing bowl. 

Place dough in bowl, turning over to coat the top surface. 

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double.

In the meantime, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the filling.  Melt the butter in a large pourable container.  Assemble tools for cutting nearby.

Prepare your pans by lining with squares of parchment.  (Yes, it’s worth it!)  You won’t need to get fancy with the parchment, just press it down into the bottom and up the sides of the pans.  This will make it so much easier to remove from the pans with all that ooey-gooey sugar/caramel mixture.  This also makes it easier to push into a bread bag without sticking to the sides...  (One reader informed me - waxed paper is NOT a good substitute, as it has to be CUT OFF the bottom of the loaves)

Turn dough onto countertop.  The oil should prevent it from sticking, but add additional oil if needed.

Roll dough into a large rectangle - it will take up your entire work surface it seems!

Pour a generous coating of melted butter over the dough, spreading to the edges with a spatula.

Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar.

Add a healthy covering of brown sugar.

Roll loosely, cinnamon roll style.  (Be sure it’s loose!)

Using a dough (or bench) scraper, cut diagonally into 1” slices at a 45 degree angle.

Now, cut diagonally the other direction, in an “X” pattern.

You may wish to roughly chop it a few more times, depending on how “chunky” you like the bread. 

Pour a little melted butter into the bottom of each parchment-lined loaf pan. 

Heap the chopped dough into pans.  Adjust to even out the dough.

If you have any extra melted butter, you can drizzle it over each loaf - then sprinkle with a little more cinnamon sugar mixture.

Allow dough to rise till double. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 - 30 minutes, being careful to check for a doughy center.  If it’s still a bit doughy, give it a few more minutes.

Allow to rest in pans for about 10 minutes, then remove to wire racks.

For ideas of how to REALLY enjoy this bread, check the next post (HERE).

                       

                        Kneader’s Chunky Bread - drizzled with glaze.

                      

                       

                         My bread, without a glaze.

                    Kneader’s Chunky Bread, sliced.

                  

                    

                    My bread, sliced.