cinnamon sugar orange twist bread
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Breakfast dreams are made of this cinnamon sugar orange twist bread! Baked until richly golden and perfumed with cinnamon sugar, the soft and tender sweet bread is simple to make (and especially irresistible still warm from the oven!).

Classic cinnamon roll dough is spread with softened butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, rolled up into a log, and then sliced and shaped into a twist (if you can make cinnamon rolls, you can certainly make this twist!).
Baked until golden and drizzled with a sweet orange butter glaze, the stunning twist is perfect for breakfast or weekend brunch.

More delicious Easter brunch recipes
- Overnight Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
- Cinnamon Sugar Orange Knots
- Meyer Lemon Danish Braid
- Orange Pull-Apart Bread

Cinnamon Sugar Orange Twist Bread
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 1 9-inch roll, serves 10
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Learn how to make cinnamon sugar orange twist bread. Drizzled with sweet orange glaze, this yeasted bread is perfect for breakfast or brunch.
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 1/2 cups (490 g) flour, divided
- 1 package (7 g) instant yeast
- 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240 g) low-fat milk
- 1/4 cup (56 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
Filling
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, very soft
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Glaze
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- pinch of salt
- 2 tsp fresh orange zest
- 2 Tbsp fresh orange juice
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Combine 2 cups (280 g) flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large mixer bowl; mix on low speed until incorporated. Heat milk in a microwave-safe measuring cup for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until very warm (120-130°F). Add warm milk, butter, and egg to flour mixture and mix until combined; mix in remaining 1 1/2 cups (210 g) flour. Switch out the flat beater for a dough hook, and knead dough for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough is ready when it feels tacky but doesn’t stick to your fingers (if necessary, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time while kneading).
- Place dough in a large bowl coated with nonstick spray and cover with plastic. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. To check if dough has doubled, lightly flour two fingers and press them down into center of dough. If indentations remain, gently press down dough; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick spray.
- Turn dough out on a lightly floured board and roll into an 18 x 12-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the edges. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle over dough, pressing in gently with the rolling pin.
- Carefully roll dough up into a tight log and pinch edges to seal; place log seam side down. Starting 1 1/2 inches from the top, use a sharp knife to cut the log in half lengthwise. Gently twist the two pieces around each other and shape into a circle, tucking in the ends. Place into prepared pan, cut side up, and cover loosely with plastic. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. While the bread rises, preheat oven to 350°F.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes before removing from pan.
- For the glaze, whisk together melted butter, salt, orange zest, orange juice, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Drizzle glaze over bread and and let set before serving.
Keywords: Bread, Sweet Bread, Easter, Cinnamon, Sugar, Orange

Made this last night. Used less flour, turned out delicious! Will be making again.
Thanks Amanda, so happy to hear that! 🙂
Hi would this work if I refrigerated after shaping the dough for the second rise, and allowed to rise in fridge for 24 hours?
Hi Miles, it should work fine – wrap the pan with plastic and chill overnight. Before baking, remove from the refrigerator and let the dough come to room temperature before baking. Hope that helps!
What kind of pan do you use?
Hi Nikki, I used a 9-inch round cake pan.
Wow, Laura! My mouth is watering just looking at these delicious pictures! Orange rolls are my absolute FAVE so I have to try this recipe stat! Btw, I LOVE the new blog design! From the colors to the font, everything is so beautiful!
Thank you so much, Joscelyn! 🙂
Beautiful and orange and cinnamon is such a great flavour combination!
In one word: Meraviglioso !
★★★★★
This cake looks absolutely amazing and perfect for weekend brunch!
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The perfect twist! Loving this for Easter brunch!
Mmm this looks so good! It’s turned chilly here so I’m all in the mood for cinnamon rolls 😀
Such a gorgeous loaf! I’ve made something similar years ago, but it didn’t look nearly as beautiful. Perfect for Easter morning!
★★★★★
What a stunning way to upscale cinnamon rolls. Its a family tradition to make cinnamon rolls for Easter, I’m thinking my family would adore these!
I can just taste it Laura! It looks absolutely spectacular, and perfect for Easter brunch or as a special treat for Mother’s Day! I love all the cinnamon, and that orange glaze. So beautiful too!
★★★★★