Blueberry Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe

This recipe makes a delicious twist on the classic cinnamon swirl bread. Plump, juicy blueberries go perfectly with the sugar and cinnamon.

It's wonderful as crispy toast at breakfast, or buttered and served with tea in the afternoon.

As a bonus, you don't have to feel guilty about this one - blueberries are one of the healthiest fruits out there. These little berries are packed full of antioxidants, fiber, and vitamin C!

If you've never made a yeast bread before, don't let that stop you. They're actually surprisingly easy to make - it just involves a lot of setting the bowl aside to let the dough rise for a few hours.

Until I made my first one, I thought it was some kind of complicated, arcane process - once I found out how simple yeast breads actually are, I started making them all the time.

Give this recipe a try, and I promise you'll be glad you did.

Put 1 cup milk and 1/2 stick butter together in a bowl or pan, and heat it until the butter is melted. I find it easiest to just stick it in the microwave for a couple minutes, but you could heat on the stovetop if you prefer. The mixture should be warm to the touch, but not hot - if it's too hot, you'll kill your yeast.

Add 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast, and let sit for 10 minutes.

In a second bowl, mix 2 eggs and 1/3 cup sugar together, combining fully. Pour the yeast mixture in, and stir it until it's smooth. Set aside.

In a clean mixing bowl, sift together 4 cups flour with 1 teaspoon salt. Make sure there aren't any big lumps in either the flour or salt.

Add half of the flour/salt mix to the egg/yeast mixture, and stir until it's smooth before adding the second half.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and slowly knead in another half cup of flour. Return to bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place for 2 hours.

With a rolling pin, roll the dough out in a rectangle on a floured surface. Cover 1/2 of the rectangle with the frozen blueberries - I use frozen ones because they're hard, and won't just squish and burst when you roll them. If you've got only fresh berries, I recommend placing them in the freezer for a while to harden before you use them.

Fold the dough in half to cover berries, and roll it out again with the rolling pin. Try for a rectangle no wider than the loaf pan you want to put it in, and about 15 or so inches long.

In another bowl, beat together an egg and a tablespoon of milk until fully combined.

In another bowl [I know, this recipe does use a lot of bowls!], mix together 1 tablespoon cinnamon with 1/3 cup sugar.

Paint the dough rectangle with egg mix. This helps keep the layers from separating when you bake it, so it's an important step.

Spread the cinnamon/sugar mix evenly over the dough. Starting with the short side, begin rolling it into a tight log - try not to leave any big air pockets.

Save the remainder of the egg mix, and set it aside in the refrigerator.

Place the dough roll with the seam down, in a well-greased loaf tin. Set in a warm place to rise for about another two hours.

Don't let the bread rise higher than the top of of the loaf tin, though. If it's rising quickly, you can bake it sooner.

If it is reluctant to rise, I sometimes turn on the oven for a few moments, then off again - so the oven is not hot, but just a bit warm - and place the dough inside to rise. The yeast needs heat to grow, so when it's cold out sometimes it needs a bit of extra help.

Brush the top of your loaf with the remainder of the egg mix - this makes the crust nice and glossy and gives it a good texture.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 50 minutes [well-done bread should make a hollow sound when you knock on it].

Remove from pan and set on a rack to cool before you slice it.

Enjoy!