Perfect Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl Bread

I have always adored Pepperidge Farms' Cinnamon-Raisin Bread, and I wanted to come up with a recipe to make it myself at home. I've been tinkering, and I have finally perfected it - my family is in love with this bread, and we're going through about half a loaf a day! It's delicious toasted and buttered, and it makes an awesome PB&J.

Perfect Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl Bread

Dough:

1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 tsp rapid-rise yeast or bread machine yeast
1 cup raisins

Swirl:
6 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp unsalted butter

Add all of the dough ingredients, except for the raisins, to your bread machine pan according to your bread machine's directions (mine calls for wet ingredients first, then salt, then dry layered on top, and yeast on top of it all). Set the machine for the dough cycle.

Add raisins during the knead, either when your machine calls for it (my machine beeps) or about 15 minutes into the knead.

When the dough cycle is complete, place dough on a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Set one half aside; use the palms of your hands to pat the other half into a rectangle, roughly 9" x 13".

Prepare the swirl: in a small bowl, use a fork to mash together 3 Tbsp of the brown sugar, 1 tsp of the cinnamon, and 2 tsp of the unsalted butter.

Spread the swirl mixture all over the dough rectangle, but leave about 1 inch uncovered at the top of the rectangle, like so:

Tightly roll the dough - I find it helps to slightly stretch the dough with each roll to get a very tight spiral.

Set the rolled dough into a greased 9"x5" loaf pan.

Repeat the process (and make up a second bowl of the swirl topping) with the second half of the dough.

Set your loaves aside to rise, covered with a clean dish towel. They should look like this:

Let rise for about 30-45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake the loaves of bread for about 30 minutes, until they are browned on top and sound slightly hollow when tapped.