Let's Bake: Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread

Last winter, I made it my goal to try out recipes using things that I always have on hand. There were coffee cakes, cinnamon rolls, quick breads, muffins, and even a few "fancy" cakes. It turns out, these are great recipes for last minute potluck preparations.  

One of my favorite recipes that I discovered last winter came from the Taste of Home website. Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread has been very popular at my house this fall. I make it one loaf at a time. 

Let's get to it!

Gather our ingredients...It's the usual cast of characters! Measure out the dry ingredients and get some cheaters' buttermilk going. Just in case you're not familiar with cheaters' buttermilk, let me explain. You take regular milk and lemon juice and let it sit and you've got something that acts exactly like buttermilk in baking.

The exact trick when you need 1 cup of buttermilk is to put 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice into a measuring cup and then add enough regular milk to make it to the 1 cup mark.

This picture is totally unnecessary, but it's so pretty, I couldn't leave it out.

Now that our "buttermilk" has had some time to get it together, let's add the egg, oil, and vanilla. Give it a good stir.

Combine the wet with the dry.

Stir just until moistened. I added a splash more milk because my batter looked a bit too dry.

Sprinkle with raisins and fold them in very gently. Since we're telling secrets...I don't really like raisins or nuts in my baked goods. This bread is the exception. Add the raisins. 

Let the batter rest while we mix the cinnamon and sugar in a separate bowl.

Transfer half of the batter into a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Add the rest of the batter. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar.

It's almost time to pop it into the oven. But first, we take a butter knife and drag it through the batter to create pretty swirls of cinnamon sugar. Make sure you go all the way to the bottom of the batter!

It's ready for the oven!!!

I like to listen to audiobooks, podcasts, and sermons while I cook. Today called for a little audiobook time. Do you have a favorite audiobook?

The bread will rest for 10 minutes on a cooling rack and THEN we remove it from the pan.

I dig into it right away and then wrap the rest in cling wrap. I store it in the bread drawer.

This bread makes perfect toast. Add a little butter and you're all set! You should also know that after a week or so (if you have any left by then), it makes my favorite ever french toast.


Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread 
slightly adapted from Taste of Home

2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 c buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 c vegetable oil
3/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 c raisins

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c sugar

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350. GREASE LOAF PAN.

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk together buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing just until moistened. If batter looks too dry, add a little more milk.

Fold raisins into batter. In a separate bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar.

Spoon half of batter into loaf pan, sprinkle with half of the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Add rest of batter, top with rest of cinnamon sugar. Cut through batter with a butter knife to create a swirl.

Bake at 350 for 55 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and bread is nice and brown.

Let cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan and allow to continue cooling.  Once cool, wrap in cling wrap and store at room temperature.

Makes 1 Loaf