Cinnamon and Raisin Swirl Bread

November has arrived and with it comes chilly mornings and long dark evenings. It's awful getting out of bed 1st thing in the morning, placing your warm toes onto a spine-tinglingly cold floor and leaving your cosy bed behind you. However knowing this gorgeous sweet treat awaits you will make getting out of bed that little bit easier. As this bakes, your whole house will smell amazing and it's very difficult not to go for seconds (and thirds!) of this bread.

I start off by making my favourite regular bread recipe and after it's 1st prove I knock it back and gently knead in about 1/2 a cup of raisins (or currants, or both). Using a rolling pin I flattened it out into a rough rectangular shape, brush it with a little bit of sunflower oil (or you could use melted butter) and scatter over some cinnamon sugar. I combined 1 tablespoon of soft brown sugar with 2 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon, I love it really cinnamony!! Then roll it up like a swiss roll and place into a greased loaf tin to rise a 2nd time for 30-40 mins until it has risen above the sides of the tin. Because of the raisins it doesn't look like the smoothest or prettiest loaf on the outside but it makes up for that completely on the inside! So pretty!

Bake for about 35-40 mins at 200C until it sounds hollow when tapped and try with all your might to let it cool completely before cutting a slice into it (If you can wait that long, more power to you, I couldn't, about half an hour was fine!). This really doesn't need anything else on it, but if you wanted you could spread some butter or jam or marmalade on it. What a perfect weekend treat!