Hey Kneaders fans, check out my copycat recipe for their chunky French toast with caramel syrup! With a homemade loaf of cinnamon swirl bread and my DIY caramel syrup, you'll be able to enjoy your favorite recipe at a fraction of the cost!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Caramel Syrup recipe included for this chunky French toast!!!
- No need to head to Kneaders Bakery for a loaf kneader chunky cinnamon bread! I'll show you how to make your own!
- Amazing French toast for breakfast on Christmas morning!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Evaporated Milk - you can substitute light cream if you wish.
- Yeast - you can use either instant or active dry.
- Flour - this recipe uses all-purpose flour, not bread flour.
- Butter - I used salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter as well.
Step by Step Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (you can do this without a mixer as well), dissolve the yeast and ¼ cup sugar in the warm water.
- Let stand for 5 minutes to get foamy.
- Mix in the 6 Tbs. butter, salt, and 5 cups of flour with a dough hook.
- Once well combined, add the last cup of flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough forms a ball, pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and is only slightly sticky to the touch. YOU MAY NOT NEED THE ENTIRE LAST CUP OF FLOUR.
- Knead for 3 minutes at medium speed.
- Cover the bowl with a dishcloth and allow the dough to rise until doubled. This will take up to 45 minutes.
- Whisk 1 cup of sugar and 1 Tbs of ground cinnamon together. Set aside.
- Dump the dough out on a lightly floured surface and divide in half.
- Roll out the first half into a long, narrow rectangle. Mine was about 4 inches wide, and the dough was roughly ½ inch thick.
- Spread with 2 Tbs. of room temperature butter and sprinkle with ½ cup of cinnamon sugar.
- Roll up into a tight, fat log. Rolling tightly will eliminate large air bubble gaps that can cause the swirls to separate.
- Pinch the seam shut well.
- The dough roll/log shouldn't be much longer than your loaf pan.
- Tuck and pinch the ends shut, making the loaf fit nicely inside the loaf pan.
- Place the cinnamon loaf in a regular bread loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
- Cover with a dish towel, set aside, and repeat the process on the other half of the dough.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. I lower one rack in my oven so the bread will cook right in the center of the oven.
- Once the loaves have doubled, bake them in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. You will need to tent the bread with foil after about the first 20 minutes to keep it from over-browning.
- Once the bread comes out of the oven, immediately run a stick of butter over the tops and leave them to cool in the bread pans for at least a half hour.
- I like to put the glaze on my cinnamon swirl loaves. However, it does make my griddle a little messy because some of the glaze will heat up and drip onto the hot griddle. If you don't want to deal with that, then you don't have to glaze your loaves; totally up to you.
- Once the bread has cooled for at least a half hour, take them out of the pans and place them on a wire rack with wax paper underneath to cool completely.
- Whisk powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk together in a small mixing bowl to make a smooth icing glaze.
- Drizzle half the glaze over the still-warm bread. Drizzle the other half of the glaze over when the bread is completely cool.
- To make the cinnamon, swirl French toast and slice bread into thick slices.
- In a shallow dish (I use a pie plate), mix eggs, milk, and vanilla with a whisk.
- The rule of thumb is ¼ cup milk to 1 egg which covers roughly 2 slices of bread.
- Preheat a large griddle to a medium heat. I heat mine to between 250 and 300 degrees. Yours may differ, though.
- Quick dip both sides of a piece of cinnamon bread in the egg mixture and cook on the preheated griddle until golden brown on both sides of the bread.
- Continue with each slice of bread.
- Serve this delicious French toast with caramel syrup (you could use maple syrup as well).
- For the caramel syrup, begin melting ¾ cup butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add the 1 ½ cups brown sugar, 2 tablespoons water, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Bring to a boil.
- Boil for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the cup of evaporated milk and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
- Serve warm and refrigerate the leftovers.
Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips
Can you freeze this bread?
Yes, just make sure the bread is completely cool before freezing it. I would also not add the icing to the top if I planned to freeze it.
How do you keep French toast from getting soggy?
Easy, just don't dip your bread slices in the egg mixture until right before you put them on the griddle. Also, just dip the bread on one side and immediately flip and dip the other side. Don't let the bread slice sit, and soak up the egg mixture.
How do you keep cinnamon swirl bread from separating?
Adding more butter or cinnamon sugar than called for can cause separations between the swirls. It's also important to roll the dough tightly to eliminate extra air bubbles.
Related Breakfast Recipes
Have you tried this recipe? If so, leave me a rating and a comment below! And don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter to get my latest recipes sent right to your email! You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram!
Copycat Kneaders Cinnamon Swirl French Toast
Hey Kneaders fans, check out my copycat recipe for their chunky French toast with caramel syrup! With a homemade loaf of cinnamon swirl bread and my DIY caramel syrup, you'll be able to enjoy your favorite recipe at a fraction of the cost!
Ingredients
Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- 2 ¼ Cups Warm Water
- 1 ½ Tbs. Active Dry Yeast
- ¼ Cup Sugar
- 6 Tbs. Butter room temp.
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- 5-6 Cups Flour
- 4 Tbs. Butter room temp.
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Tbs. Ground Cinnamon
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 2-3 Tbs. Milk
Caramel Syrup
- ¾ Cup Butter
- 1 ½ Cups Brown Sugar
- 2 Tbs. Water
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Evaporated Milk
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla
- Makes about 3 cups of Syrup
For the French Toast
- Eggs
- Milk
- Vanilla
- Rule of thumb is ¼ cup milk 1 Egg and just a little vanilla per two slices of bread.
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast and ¼ cup sugar in the warm water.
- Let stand for 5 minutes to get foamy.
- Mix in the 6 Tbs. butter, salt, and 5 cups of flour with a dough hook.
- Once well combined, add the last cup of flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough forms a ball, pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and is only slightly sticky to the touch. YOU MAY NOT NEED THE ENTIRE LAST CUP OF FLOUR.
- Knead for 3 minutes at medium speed.
- Cover the bowl with a dishcloth and allow the dough to rise until doubled. This will take up to 45 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk the cup of sugar and tablespoon of ground cinnamon together. Set aside.
- Dump the dough out on a lightly floured surface and divide in half.
- Roll the first half out into a long rectangle about 4 inches wide and ½ inch thick.
- Spread 2 Tbs. of butter over the rolled-out dough. Sprinkle with ½ of the cinnamon sugar.
- Roll up into a tight, fat log.
- Pinch all the seams, and the ends shut well.
- Place seam side down in a loaf pan that has been sprayed lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Cover with a dish towel, set aside, and repeat with the other half of the dough.
- Allow the loaves to rise until doubled, about another 45 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake the cinnamon swirl loaves for 45-50 minutes. After about 20 minutes of baking, tent the loaves with tin foil to avoid over-browning.
- Once the bread is done, run a stick of butter over the tops and let cool in the pans for at least a half hour.
- Place a wire rack over a sheet of wax paper. Turn the loaves out on the wire racks to finish cooling.
- Whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk together until turns to a glaze.
- Drizzle ½ the glaze over the still-warm bread loaves.
- Drizzle the other half of the glaze over once the loaves are completely cool.
- For the caramel syrup, bring the butter, brown sugar, water, and salt to a boil over medium heat.
- Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the evaporated milk and vanilla. Keep warm or reheat to use for syrup.
- For the French toast, preheat your griddle and slice the cinnamon bread into thick slices.
- In a pie plate, whisk together roughly 3 eggs, ¾ cup milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Replenish as you go.
- Drip both sides of the bread in the egg mixture and cook on the griddle until golden brown on each side.
- Serve with warm caramel syrup.
Notes
- I like to put the glaze on my cinnamon swirl loaves. However, it does make my griddle a little messy because some of the glaze will heat up and drip onto the hot griddle. If you don't want to deal with that, then you don't have to glaze your loaves. Totally up to you.
- You can make and freeze the bread ahead of time and thaw it out overnight so it's ready to cook in the morning.
Nutrition
Calories: 3686kcalCarbohydrates: 744gProtein: 26gFat: 71gSaturated Fat: 44gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 3gCholesterol: 197mgSodium: 1706mgPotassium: 883mgFiber: 10gSugar: 465gVitamin A: 2094IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 1200mgIron: 20mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Thanks for stopping by! Before you go, be sure to check out a few of my most popular recipes!
JP
Best French toast you’ll ever eat
Julie
This recipe was so good and easy to make. I doubled the recipe and the kids devoured 1 loaf in minutes. They can’t wait to have it for breakfast.
Mindee
Thanks Julie!
L.S.
OMGSH! This makes the best French toast EVER! The caramel sauce is to die for and makes for a great ice cream topper as well, or just eat it straight. We loved it!
Jeff
This is beyond good
b
OMG This was delicious. Will have to make this all the time.
I cut it down to half a recipe and now wish I hadn't.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
mindeescookingobsession
You are very welcome!!!
Elsi
I don't often leave recipe reviews but had to say thank you for this one! My family moved far away from kneaders locations several years ago so this was an amazing find that tastes pretty spot on, makes a great gift, and rarely makes it through a couple days in our kitchen! Awesome
Mindee
Thank You! This one doesn't make it long in my house either! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!