Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread

Cinnamon and raisins just work together. That classic combo never gets old. This sweet Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread is baked into a classic artisan loaf with a soft, chewy crumb, juicy raisins, and a warm cinnamon swirl running through every slice. It’s the kind of bread that makes your kitchen smell amazing and is perfect for morning toast or an afternoon treat.

I love spreading a little butter on a warm slice and watching it melt into little puddles. The bread is soft, lightly sweet, and just as loved by my kids as it is by me. It makes the most amazing morning toast and is incredible for French toast or bread pudding, too.

And if you’re not a raisin fan, you can leave them out for a simple cinnamon swirl sourdough that’s just as yummy. Once you bake this loaf, you’ll want to keep one on hand all week long.

Why You’ll Love Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough

• Morning Favorite – This homemade artisan sourdough loaf makes the best cinnamon raisin toast for breakfast. Each slice has a soft, chewy crumb and the perfect swirl of cinnamon sugar. If you love a sweet breakfast, try my cinnamon raisin sourdough bagels next — they have all the same flavor in bagel form.
• Easy to Make – This cinnamon raisin sourdough bread recipe is easy to follow and beginner-friendly. Instead of sprinkling cinnamon sugar straight onto the dough, I use a cinnamon sugar paste that keeps the dough easy to shape and creates a beautiful swirl, just like in my Best Ever Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls.
• Absolutely Delicious – Sweet, spiced, and full of plump raisins, this bread is the kind you’ll want to bake again and again. It tastes amazing fresh from the oven or toasted with butter, and if you love sweet sourdough recipes, you’ll also want to try my Cinnamon Roll Sourdough Focaccia.

New to Sourdough? If you are new to sourdough, learn how to make a sourdough starter from scratch and check out my Free Sourdough Beginner Guide. Using naturally fermented sourdough will take much longer, but you will love the fermentation benefits and the flavor!

Important Ingredients

• Sourdough Starter – Use an active/ripe sourdough starter (doubled in size/bubbly/mild sour aroma) to mix the levain.
• Bread Flour – I almost always use a 12.5% protein bread flour for my loaves. This recipe makes a high-hydration dough, so a strong flour helps develop structure and hold the shape. If you substitute all-purpose flour, reduce the water slightly to keep the dough manageable.
• Water – I use tap water in my baking and usually warm it up to help keep the dough warm during the fermentation process. If the dough is cold, the fermentation will move more slowly.
• Salt – Salt enhances the flavor and helps temper the fermentation. Don’t leave it out!
• Raisins – Some recipes call for soaking the raisins. I do not soak them before adding into the dough. Instead, I purposefully increase the hydration of the dough to compensate for the raisins soaking up some of the moisture. If you choose to use soaked raisins, decrease the water in the recipe by 25 grams.
• Cinnamon Sugar Mixture – Cinnamon sugar can often be difficult to add into a high-hydration sourdough bread. It makes the dough sticky quickly because sugar absorbs water. To help compensate for that, this recipe calls for a paste of cinnamon/sugar mixed with softened butter, a little flour and a pinch of salt. Mix the paste together and spread it over the dough after bulk fermentation and right before shaping.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities

Sourdough Baker’s Timeline

A sample baking schedule helps me when baking with sourdough. Sourdough takes much longer to rise than commercial yeast bread. This schedule helps me plan my bake.

A few notes: This schedule assumes the dough temperature is 78°F throughout the process. If you’d like to make the bread all on the same day, skip the cold fermentation and let the dough rise for a few hours in a banneton before baking.

How to Make Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread

Mix the Levain

Step 1: Mix the Levain. This recipe starts with a levain that’s mixed the same day you make the dough. In a small bowl, combine your active sourdough starter, water, and flour (Image 1). Keep the levain around 78ºF (25°C) and it should be ready in about 3–4 hours.

You’ll know the levain is ready when it has doubled in size, looks bubbly and airy, has a mild, slightly sour aroma, and is just beginning to fall from its peak height (Image 2).

Do you have to use a levain in this recipe? No, you don’t have to. I prefer using a levain for consistency in your starter, but if you have a well-maintained and frequently refreshed starter, you can substitute active starter in place of the levain in the recipe.

Mix the Dough

Step 2: Fermentolyse. As soon as the levain is ready (bubbly, doubled in size, peaked), mix together the ripe levain, bread flour, whole wheat flour, and water (Images 3 & 4) in a large bowl or container. This method is called a fermentolyse, and it helps strengthen the gluten strands in the dough before the salt is added. Salt has a shrinking effect on the gluten strands, so doing this first gives a better overall texture and crumb to this bread. Cover the dough, set it in a warm (78°F) place, and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Do you need to do a fermentolyse? No. You can skip the fermentolyse and add the salt and reserved water during the initial mix. Go straight into the stretch and folds. The crumb may be a little tighter, but the loaf still turns out soft and delicious.

Step 3: Mix Dough. After 30 minutes, add the 10 grams of salt and 25 grams of reserved water (Images 5 & 6). Use your hands to pinch and fold chunks of dough back into the mixture (Image 7). Lift one side of the dough and fold it over itself several times, wetting your hands as needed. Continue kneading, slapping the dough against the sides of the bowl until the dough is cohesive and smooth (Image 8). This usually takes about 3–5 minutes. If you prefer, you can do this step in a stand mixer instead of by hand, mixing for 1-2 minutes. Cover the dough and rest for 30 minutes at 78ºF.

Temperature Note: The temperature of your sourdough matters. Aim to keep your dough around 78ºF (25°C) during mixing and bulk fermentation. Warmer dough ferments faster, while cooler dough will slow things down.

Bulk Fermentation: Stretch and Folds

Step 4: Bulk Fermentation. This cinnamon raisin sourdough bread is an artisan-style loaf, so instead of traditional kneading, we strengthen the dough with a series of gentle stretch and folds. Plan for 3–4 sets of folds over about 2 hours if your dough stays around 78°F (25°C).

Stretch and Fold: To stretch and fold, wet your hand so it doesn’t stick to the dough. Reach under the dough, grab from the bottom, and pull it up and over the top (Images 9 & 10). Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat, doing this a total of four times per set (Images 11 & 12). Cover and rest the dough for 30 minutes between each round of folds.

Adding Raisins: Before your second set of stretch and folds, sprinkle the raisins evenly over the top of the dough. Stretch and fold the dough. As you continue stretching and folding, the raisins will incorporate naturally (Images 13 & 14). You can also use coil folds if you prefer. Either method helps the raisins distribute evenly as the dough strengthens.

Finish Bulk Fermentation

Step 5: Rest. After the 2-hour period of stretch and folds, let the dough rest in a warm spot (around 78–80°F / 25–27°C) until it looks puffed, jiggly, domed toward the center, risen about 30-40% and has a few scattered bubbles on the surface (Image 15). This usually takes about 2-3 hours at a warm 78ºF temperature. If the dough isn’t showing signs it is ready to shape, give it another half hour and check again.

Shaping the Dough

Step 6: Shape Loaf. After the dough has rested, it’s ready to shape. Begin by preparing the cinnamon filling: Mix together softened butter, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, flour, and salt until it forms a thick paste (Image 16).

Line a banneton or bowl with a kitchen towel or hair net and flour it generously- rice flour works best, but all-purpose or bread flour also work (If using a hair net, you don’t need to flour it unless you want to). Set aside.

Turn the dough out onto the counter. With wet hands, gently stretch it into a square or rectangle (Image 17). You don’t want the dough to be too thin or else the cinnamon sugar can seep through, so keep it about 12 by 16 inches in size.

Dollop 2/3 of the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the dough, working quickly to spread it evenly in the center of the dough (Image 18). Fold one side of the dough toward the center, then fold the other side, meeting it in the center. Pinch together the seam (Images 19 & 20).

Spread the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture on top (Image 21), then roll the dough up into a cylinder or circular shape (Image 22). Immediately place the dough into the prepared banneton basekt or bowl (Image 23).

Amy’s Tip: Cinnamon sugar pulls moisture out of high-hydration doughs quickly, which can make shaping tricky. Work fast to spread the filling over the dough and shape right away to prevent it from becoming sticky or hard to handle.

Cold Fermentation

Step 7: Cold Fermentation. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a plastic shower cap and place it in the refrigerator for about 12–20 hours. The timing will vary depending on your refrigerator temperature and how quickly the dough is fermenting (Images 24 & 25). Cold fermentation makes the dough easier to score, deepens the flavor of your loaf, and gives you flexibility in your bake time.

Want to bake the same day? Skip the cold fermentation. Cover the dough and let rise in a warm, 78-80°F room temperature place for about 2-3 hours until puffed up, jiggly, and risen. Then preheat your Dutch oven and bake.

Score and Bake the Loaf

Step 8: Score and Bake the Cinnamon Raisin Loaf. 

Pre-heat the Oven: Put a Dutch oven (top and all) into the oven and preheat to 500°F. Allow the Dutch oven to heat for about 30 minutes to an hour at 500°F. This builds up steam, which is necessary to achieve the beautiful oven spring and crispy crust that artisan bread is known for.

Scoring the Dough: Once the oven is preheated for 30 minutes, pull the loaf out of the refrigerator. Remove the plastic wrap (this is easy to do straight out of the refrigerator if the dough is chilled – not easy if the dough warms up) and place a piece of parchment paper on top of the bread dough. I like using parchment in this recipe because sometimes the cinnamon sugar will leak out, which I don’t like getting on my Dutch oven. Flip the dough over so that it is now sitting on the parchment paper. Take off the bowl/banneton and kitchen towel. Use a bread lame or a very sharp knife to score the dough (Image 26). I find a simple score, nothing too intricate, is best when working with this dough. If a raisin pops out, just take it out completely or else it will burn.

Baking the Bread: Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the 500°F oven with hot pads. Take the top off and place your bread into the Dutch oven (including parchment paper – this helps with the transfer). Be very careful not to touch the sides of the hot Dutch oven. Put your hot pads back on before you pick up the lid of the Dutch oven and place it on top of the bread. Put the whole Dutch oven back into your oven (Image 27). Lower the temperature to 450°F and bake for 25 minutes. Once 25 minutes are up, take the top off the Dutch oven, lower the temperature to 400ºF and continue baking for 20 minutes until the bread is fully baked, with an internal temperature of about 205ºF (Images 28 & 29). Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and enjoy!

How to Store Leftovers

After the cinnamon raisin sourdough loaf has cooled completely, slice it up into pieces. Place sliced bread in a plastic bag, push air out, and freeze. This bread toasts up well straight from the freezer into the toaster or defrosts to enjoy a slice later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Favorite Sourdough Inclusions

Blueberry Lemon Sourdough Bread

Artichoke Sourdough Bread

Cranberry Pecan Artisan Sourdough Bread

Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough Bread

If you tried this Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread or any other recipe on my website leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Happy Baking!