Cinnamon raisin bread (swirly) in Tales from the kitchen witch

This one is a HUGE hit! The joke is im making a cookbook lmao. My friends LOVE my recipes. I post them here for funsies. Pictures of my not as tight as it COULD be swirled bread. 

• 1 1/2₂cups milk
• 1 cup warm water (must be between 110-115 degrees)
• 2  1/4 teaspoons)  active dry yeast
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup cinnamon
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 -2 cup raisins ( Depends on your tastes) 
• 8 cups all-purpose flour

Swirl. 

1/2 -1 cup cinnamon sugar mix, I mix them about 2/3rds sugar, 1/3rd cinnamon. I keep this in a shaker in the kitchen for quick toast. So its perfect for my bread. 

Use the dang kitchen aid. You will regret not! 

Put milk in a sauce pan and bring to JUST BEFORE simmering. IE the edges are simmering. Set aside to cool to luke warm.

Mix 1 cup warm water and yeast together in your mixer bowl. Sprinkle a bit of sugar in the water ot feed your yeast. Let it get frothy. 

Mix in eggs, sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon and raisins (stir in the cooled milk slowly so you don't cook the eggs.) 

Add the flour gradually to make a stiff dough. This will be somewhat sticky, but not overly. 

Butter a proofing dish. I like to use a metal bowl or glass pan. But when I bake this in multiples I use tin dishes.  Put your dough in the proofing dish and roll it over so the butter gets on all sides or use a brush to brush some butter on your dough. 

Allow to raise in a warm place till doubled, at least an hour for me. I do this by preheating my oven to 200 degrees, placing my raising pan in the oven, as well as a glass dish of water for moisture. You can cover with a damp rag. I find it eventually sticks to my dough so I forgo this and let the water below keep it moist. Re warm your oven if its gets to room temp. This helps heat the house on cooler days too. 

When its raised. remove from warm oven.  Divide into thirds. 

Oil a flat surface. I use butter. You can use whatever. Yes I like to OIL it not flour it. I also use the bottom side of a very large cookie sheet. 
Roll your dough out with a rolling pin into a large rectangle. It should be nicely elastic at this point. When you get it the size you want ( Aim for 1/4 inch thick) Rub butter along the dough with a brush. Then thickly sprinle the cinnamon sugar over it. I like  THICK layer. It bakes in.

Roll this dough into a log. You want to roll the short side up. Roll it as tight as you can and tuck your ends in as you go so you do not loose your sugar. Place in your well oiled bread pans. 
Place back in the oven and allow to raise for another hour or so. Brush the top with butter again. 

Bake for 45 minutes at 350 or until the tops are nicely browned.  Allow to cool fully before cutting.

Additions I like to make. Finely chop one apple and mix with your cinnamon sugar swirl for apple bread. 
Sprinkle additional cinnamon sugar on top of the bread.
Mix in chopped nuts like pecans to your dough or cinnamon swirl layer.
Cut the rolled swirl into cinnamon rolls by slicing and raising individually.
Top with cream cheese frosting. 

Sooo good. We are going through 4-6 loaves of this a week. Its extremely easy, requires really, very little effort. Just dont make your water/yeast too hot or you will kill it.