I’ve just entered into the second week of school with my boys. My main goal these days is to find new and interesting ways to entice them out of bed in the morning. The alarm clock doesn’t seem to work, nor the words “you don’t want to miss your bus!”, because they really do want to miss it. What seems to motivate them to leave their cozy beds is the promise of something tasty to eat. So every morning I come up with something I know they will love. One morning it was crepes, the next waffles and this morning it was Cinnamon-Raisin toast. It did the trick, the boys got out of bed, albeit slowly, and devoured the better part of the loaf.

I started by baking the Cinnamon-Raisin Bread from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (page 209), in 2 mini loaf pans ^[1], toasted it and slathered it with butter. What’s not to love?

Start with 1 1/2 pounds of buttermilk dough (page 207), brioche dough (page 189), whole wheat dough (page 78) or any other dough that you love. Form it into a ball to create a smooth surface.

Roll the dough with a rolling pin ^[2]till it’s about 1/8″ thick.

Spread 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 3/4 cup raisins. If you want more raisins, cinnamon or sugar, go for it! Add nuts, chocolate or whatever else will get your kids out of bed. There is nothing that says these fillings can’t be savory as well.

Starting at the short end of the rectangle roll the dough and fillings,

pinch the seam shut.

Place in a well greased baking pan– in this case, I made a loaf that would fit into a mini loaf pan ^[1]. Allow to rest for about 1 hour and 40 minutes, or until the dough no longer feels chilled.

Paint the risen dough with egg wash and dust with sugar before baking.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes int he pan and then remove the bread to finish cooling.

Allow to cool on the side so that the bottom crust doesn’t get soggy. Enjoy!