Cinnamon Donut Bread
Updated on August 9, 2024 by Rodney • This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. • 95 Comments • Jump to Recipe
This Cinnamon Donut Bread is a superb cinnamon flavored bread. Tastes just like Cinnamon Sugar donuts! One of our most popular recipes.
This Cinnamon Donut Bread is super sweet and has the same consistency as a donut coated with cinnamon sugar. Some may disagree but if you try this recipe, you will love it nonetheless.
This donut bread is very similar to my Donut Muffins and my Cinnamon Swirl Bread recipes. You would need to try both to see the similarities.
For another delicious cinnamon-flavored bread, make sure you try my Cinnamon Bread recipe. Equally delicious!
I love these types of recipes because it’s almost impossible to screw up. Well, I guess you can but if you follow my directions closely, you will end up with a great tasting loaf that everyone will love.
Buttermilk Substitution
If you don’t have Buttermilk on hand, you can use this trick as a substitute: Add one tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring cup. Add milk and fill to the 1 cup measurement line. Stir the mixture together and let sit for 5 minutes. Since this recipe calls for 1/2 cup you will need to adjust accordingly.
Another option is to use a cultured buttermilk blend. All you need to do is add water. I was very skeptical at first but in a pinch it works great!
Reader Feedback
“Fabulous…did not disappoint one tastebud! Moist and delicious! Will definitely make again as a loaf and muffins.”
– Cori
Tips
- For even more flavor, try doubling the amount of cinnamon and molasses in the batter for the center and top of the loaf.
Equipment Needed
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Below are some of my favorite pieces of equipment that I use when making this recipe.
Gather your Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make this Cinnamon Donut Bread recipe. For ingredient amounts please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Canola Oil
- Unsalted Butter
- White Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract – Homemade or store-bought
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Buttermilk
- Ground Cinnamon
- Molasses
- Light Brown Sugar – you can also use dark brown sugar
How to Make Cinnamon Donut Bread
Make the Cinnamon Donut Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Grease a loaf pan with your favorite cooking spray and set it aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix oil, butter, and sugar until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth. Gently add in dry ingredients and buttermilk until a nice smooth batter has formed.
- Add 1/2 cup of the batter and place it into a separate smaller bowl. To that small amount of batter, stir in cinnamon and molasses.
- Pour half of the batter into the bottom of the loaf pan. Spoon half of the cinnamon batter in small dollops over the batter. Pour the remaining plain batter over the top. Put the remaining cinnamon batter on top of the regular batter.
- Using a butter knife, swirl two batters together. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Make the Topping
- Pour melted butter into a large shallow dish. Stir sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon together in a separate large shallow dish.
- Let the loaf cool 10 minutes before removing the loaf from the pan. The loaf should be warm to the touch. Dip each side of the loaf into melted butter. Spoon the remaining melted butter over the edges to ensure the loaf is totally coated in butter.
- Place the loaf in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, one side at a time until fully coated. Slice into pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.
Printable Recipe Card
Cinnamon Donut Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ Cup Canola Oil
- ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
- 1 Cup White Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 Tsp Baking Powder
- ½ Tsp Salt
- ½ Cup Buttermilk
- ½ Tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ Tsp Molasses
TOPPING
- ½ Cup Unsalted Butter, Melted
- ¼ Cup White Sugar
- ¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- ½ Tsp Ground Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease a loaf pan with your favorite cooking spray and set aside.
- In large mixing bowl, mix oil, butter and sugar until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth. Gently add in dry ingredients and buttermilk until a nice smooth batter has formed.
- Add 1/2 cup of the batter and place into a separate smaller bowl. To that small amount of batter, stir in cinnamon and molasses.
- Pour half of the batter into the bottom of the loaf pan. Spoon half of the cinnamon batter in small dollops over the batter. Pour remaining plain batter over the top. Put the remaining cinnamon batter on top of the regular batter.
- Using a butter knife, swirl two batters together. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Pour melted butter into a large shallow dish. Stir sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon together in a separate large shallow dish.
- Let the loaf cool 10 minutes before removing loaf from pan. The loaf should be warm to the touch. Dip each side of loaf into melted butter. Spoon remaining melted butter over the edges to ensure the loaf is totally coated in butter.
- Place the loaf in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, one side at a time until fully coated. Slice into pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided for this recipe is based on 1 serving. This information is an estimate and may vary based on several factors. If nutritional information is important to you and your diet, please verify this recipe with a Registered Dietitian.
What can you substitute for buttermilk and butter if your vegan?
Can the bread be put into the freezer to use later? Can you substitute honey for molasses?
Marvelous I love
This donut bread recipe is super simple. I’ve read most of the comments. I usually cook in my smaller countertop oven, which tends to be a bit hotter than my big oven (which take forever to heat up)! So, at the 30 minute mark, I covered the bread with foil to prevent any burning on the top. Then baked for another 13 minutes and it was perfect! House smells AMAZING! The bread did break a little as I was trying to do the dipping in the topping, so next time, I think I’ll just spread or drizzle it on the top.
I used sour dough discard for buttermilk. It was delicious. I will be making this bread again. Thanks👍👍👍
Terry, what is sour dough discard?
Sourdough discard is the amount you “discard” when your sourdough starter has peaked and you then remove some to feed the starter again. There are some sourdough starters for sourdough bread that have been around for multiple years!
I was actually looking for something else and came across this which peaked my interest. My husband likes a little sweet with his morning coffee so I’m gonna give this a go. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
would this be okay to put in the freezer when done?
I’ve never frozen this bread but I think if you freeze it without the cinnamon sugar mixture you should be ok. Once unthawed then I would do add the coating.
Really enjoyed this yummy goodness. It has a buttery aftertaste that’s pretty awesome. We needed to make 2 loaves so my 8 year old daughter and I did a bowl each at the same time. So thank you not only for a delicious treat we are sharing with our church but also thank you for the memory and possibly a tradition we made with each other 😊
I mill my own grain and would like to sub whole wheat flour for the all purpose. Could I still use 1 1/2 cups of WW? Any other substitutions/changes I should make? Your help is much appreciated.
Amazing!
Yes it is! Glad you liked it!
Lovely recipe, Rodney. Anything baked with cinnamon is awesome. I’m sure all of my Facebook readers on Canadian Budget Binder and The Free Recipe Depot will enjoy it. 🙂 MR. CBB
Just WOW…..this was just delicious. Making the Starbucks Gingerbread loaf now and kitchen smells wonderful.
It was scrumptious. Love cinnamon.
Love this recipe, but I would like to make some ahead of time. Should I freeze the bread before you dip it in the butter and cinnamon, then dip in sugar cinnamon once thawed?
I have not been in a situation where I needed to freeze this delicious bread. But if it was up to me, I would freeze without the cinnamon sugar coating. Let it thaw to room temperature then add the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Will make it soon
Can I substitute molasses?
You could try some dark corn syrup or simply omit that ingredients since this recipe does not call for very much molasses.
Hi, could I add some chopped apple do you think?
Interesting idea. I suppose you could fold in some finely diced apples into the batter before baking. Or maybe use some apple pie filling but you might have to reduce some of the other liquid to offset it to get the proper consistency.
Margaret, how did it turn out with your addition? Did you alter any ingredients amounts or baking time, temp, etc.??