Homemade Amish White Bread & Cinnamon Swirl Bread


Amish White Bread is a homemade bread recipe that is a soft, easy to slice bread perfect for sandwiches.  
I've been wanting to try my hand at homemade bread and came across this simple recipe for Amish White Bread.  I was specifically looking for an Amish or Mennonite recipes and this one looked pretty easy, especially for a first time bread makers. 

I love Amish and Mennonite cooking. There is just something about the simplicity of their recipes that I love. I think it is really because everything is made from scratch the way it used to be.  I did not want a recipe that was too difficult since this was my first attempt at making homemade bread.

I was a little intimidated at first but the process went a lot smoother than I thought it would. Yeast rolls and breads are my all time favorite. Nothing is better than hot homemade bread or rolls right out of the oven. 

I found this recipe to be very versatile and easy to convert. What I mean by that is I made one loaf of plain white bread and one cinnamon swirl bread, both tasting awesome. This dough is perfect to make cinnamon rolls or even cinnamon raisin bread.

I read the reviews carefully before I began and took the advice of a few readers on decreasing the sugar to 1/3 cup instead of 2/3 cup. I thought that it made such a difference for making the plain white bread.

I will be using this recipe the next time I make cinnamon rolls, but for that recipe i would recommend using the full required 2/3 cup sugar. My family loved this bread! we finished off the cinnamon swirl loaf the first day. So I will definitely be making this recipe again and again.

These are the ingredients you will need: bread flour, yeast, salt, sugar, oil and water. 

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. add the flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. I place a bowl of hot water on the lowest rack of my oven under my bread bowl. Punch the dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide the dough in half. 

I wanted to make one white bread loaf and one cinnamon swirl loaf. Whether you want plain white bread or cinnamon swirl bread I do the same practice of rolling the dough up for both recipes. (Roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Then roll the dough up from the shortest end to the other. If making cinnamon swirl bread just spread some softened butter on top of the dough and sprinkle with a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon. 



Roll up and pinch off the edges. Place into two well oiled 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.




Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.




just like this. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.




Let the bread cool in the baking pans for just a bit then remove to a baking rack and cool bread completely. 


Brush the top of the bread loaves with melted butter. Let completely cool before attempting to slice.




Amish White Bread

ingredients:
2 - cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/3 - 2/3 - cup white sugar
1 1/2 - tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 - teaspoons salt
1/4 - cup vegetable oil
6 - cups bread flour

Instructions:
In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam. 

Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth.

Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. 

Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans.

Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread: Roll out bread and spread on some softened butter. Sprinkle on a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon sugar. Roll up and continue with rising and baking. There is not rule on how much of the sugar mixture to add it's all up to you on how much you want.

Recipe Yields: 2 Loaves

36 comments

Jess said…
oohh, that looks delicious!!
That looked pretty easy too.
I think I could probably make this!!
Nonnas News said…
Wow!! I could smell that bread cooking just from looking at your pics!LOL
Your bread turned out perfect!! I knew you could do it. :) It looks beautiful. To be honest, I prefer the old fashioned way of bread making over a bread machine any day. Bread machines produce much smaller loaves, and you only get one loaf at a time! Making it by hand is not that much more effort really once you get the hang of it and then you not only get larger loaves, but two of them at a time!

Excellent job, I'll have to try this recipe for sure.
I just printed the recipe. It looks amazingly delicious!
Stephanie said…
I love Amish and Mennonite recipes too! In fact, tonight's dinner and dessert were both from a Mennonite cookbook that I have. I love the simplicity. Your bread looks just wonderful! I love homemade bread. We do have a bread machine, and it simplifies the process, but I think it's wonderful to make it without the machine too.
Tina Butler said…
Oh Jess I know you can do this. Like I said It was so much easier than I thought it would be.

Hi Patti, that bread smelled so darn good cooking, I could hardly wait for it to cool to get a slice. I hope you mother is doing better. ((Hugs))


My New 30 - Definitly try this recipe. I have to admit now that i know i can make it homemade I really want to stick to baking bread this way.

Hi Angie I havent seen you for a while LMK how the bread turns out when you try you hand at this recipe.

Hi Stephanie, I bet that cookbook you have is awesome. I want to get the cooking from quilt country. That cookbook is really goo. I think i am like you I love the simplicitly of amish and mennonite cooking.
Brindi said…
Thanks for the post. You make it look easy. I tackled cinnamon rolls for the first time over Christmas, and I loved kneading the bread. It felt good. I am anxious to try this, using your pictures.
tam said…
Your bread looks beautiful-what a great job for a first time! There is just something very satisfying making bread isn't there? Have an awesome week!~Smiles~Tam!
Noor said…
Hey thats pretty good for a first try, you should have never told :). I love Amish bread to, we have an Amish village called Muddy ponds not far from where I grew up at that we would go to a lot. And do not waste your money on a bread machine the bread does not taste or look half as good as this. I do not even use mine, nothing beats the old fashioned way.

Also, Tina how did you get the print recipe now option on your recipes? I have been trying to do this for months now.
Tina Butler said…
Hi Noor, If you look closely when you click on the "print recipe option" it is just a new blog from blogger. I got this brilliant idea from Stephanie over at Live Love Eat. Just set up a second blog and then start adding your recipes as you add them to your primary blog. Then make a clickable print option and insert into your post.
shweetpotato said…
Guess what I just took out of the oven :D Yep, 2 yummy loaves of bread, One cinnamon and one plain :D LOVE the cinnamon, Ive never had it before, havent cut into the plain yet, they are soo pretty too hehe, my house smells SOO good, Carm

http://chubbagurl.blogspot.com/2009/01/amish-white-bread.html
Tina Butler said…
Carm I saw your bread and left you a comment. The bread turned out so beautiful. You should be proud of yourself.
Shawna said…
I will be making this bread this weekend! And I do think I will take your advice and do a cinnamon sugar swirl loaf to surprise my husband!
Noor said…
Ahh ok I see what you did, thanks for letting me know. I did that for my blog roll bc it was getting to long and I needed the space, lol...
Tanya said…
Ooh, I love homemade bread! There's no better smell in the world. Looks awesome!
Maria said…
the bread looks perfect!!
Tracy Bentley said…
Thank you so much for posting this. I have been looking for a bread receipe. The loaves look wonderful.
~The Dippold's said…
I love Amish and Mennonite recipes too! I love the simplicity. Your bread looks so yummy! I love homemade bread. :)
~The Dippold's said…
why do I always post under my fam blog instead of my food blog?? oh well!! :)

http://day2daywithhollyj.blogspot.com/
Ok, what am I doing wrong? I can't see the recipe for it. It's beautiful bread, I am wondering...what is the dark swirl in it...wheat?
Tina Butler said…
The recipe for the bread is there it is at the end of the post. Did you click to read full post? The swirl is cinnamon sugar.
Firfox (Mozilla) didn't allow the "click to read more" section on the post for some reason...who know's. But when I clicked on the title of the post it brought me to the recipe. This looks so easy and yummy! Thanks for posting it.

P.S. Thanks for your help on the other issue. I appreciate it more than you know. *smile*
Tina Butler said…
Fruglalhomeliving ~ your welcome and its not a problem ~
Anonymous said…
We're giving this a try this weekend. Well it won't be quite Amish as we'll be using a Kitchenaid, but it's bread nonetheless. Both loaves look delish.
sheila said…
wow I will have to try this bread. Looks so good
deanna said…
hi tina,

this is a keeper. my family just love it.
thanks for sharing your recipes.
OCLUE said…
Mmmmm that is SO yummy! And very easy to make thanks! It turned out great !
Darcy said…
My family loved this bread. I made the cinnamon swirl and one regular, of course the cinnamon swirl loaf got eaten in one day. One question??? I can make the bread to where it turns out great with the exception of it not getting done in the middle. I have this problem with other bread recipes as well.I baked the bread for 30 minutes and it was still a little doughy in the middle. If I bake it longer it burns on the top. Not sure what I'm doing wrong??
Anonymous said…
I always inspired by you, your opinion and way of thinking, again, thanks for this nice post.

- Norman
Rene' said…
Yea! I have been trying since last Christmas to make homemade bread, and it just kept falling short no matter what I did. Until today! I followed this recipe (using only 1/3 c sugar for regular bread) and these instructions and it turned out perfectly! I put 1/2 in a loaf pan and half cut up into roll size buns in a round cake pan. It was SO great! Kids are already fighting over it! Thanks for posting a good recipe with good instructions. Sometimes, bread recipes are written in a way that a new breadmaker has many opportunities to not get it quite right and it can be really discouraging.
Thanks again!
Mine was a total bust. I have no idea why. When you add the yeast are you supposed to continue stirring until the foam appears or let it sit? This could be the only place I went wrong. I also warmed the water on the stove to reach the specified temperature. Could I have just used the warmest water from the tap? First attempt ever and a little discourage. Help! Thanks!--Lindsey
Anonymous said…
I found this recipe a few weeks ago and i will never ever change it!!! We had a terrible ice storm here and all the bread, milk, and batteries were gone from the store shelves!! I knew we would be fine without milk for a few days but my son loves bread and i decided to just make the bread at home for the first time ever!!! And it was absolutely wonderfully PERFECT!!! thank you so much for sharing this recipe!! Ill never buy bread from a store agin!!
Anonymous said…
And to lindsay, i just use hot tap water and i sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it sit about 5 minutes then continue with the directions
Jenifer said…
Mine doesn't seem to be rising within the 30 minutes mentioned after its in the pan, also I was never able to successfully get my dough smooth, it seemed so dry that I had a hard time getting all of the flour to mix in. Also, I may have made the mistake of putting the oven on warm while it was rising in the bowl. I just turned it back on warm to see if that will help it rise to 1 inch above the pan. I don't think I'm going to get the light and fluffy texture on this go around.
Tina Butler said…
The recipe states Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans. If it does not rise then it could be your yeast. It might not be good or you could of killed the yeast by using too hot of water. The dough also needs to rise in a warm place if using the oven it should be off not on warm. I would get new yeast and try again.
Anonymous said…
I want to make raisin cinnamon bread. How should I do this? Thanks, Penny S