This sugary, buttery, cinnamon-laced, melt-in-your-mouth braided cinnamon loaf is centerpiece-worthy at the breakfast or bunch table.

In a quest for a visually unique loaf of bread, I came across a recipe for a Nutella twist which looked gorgeous. Reading through the instructions, I was surprised at how simple an intricate looking braid could be created. With plenty of cinnamon on hand, I decided to give this loaf a go sans Nutella. The result of my experiment is captured in the photo above and was a delicious compliment to plates of sunny-side-up friend eggs and mugs of French roast coffee.

However, upon further investigation, it turned out my “original” recipe idea had already been conceived and executed on the site Home Cooking Adventure. Nonetheless, here is my version of Estonian Kringle adapted for my dough machine.

Cinnamon Braid

Ingredients

Bread

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup lukewarm milk
• 1 tbsp  granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg

Filling

• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 5 tbsp granulated sugar
• 3 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place bread ingredients in bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
3. Set cycle to “dough” and start machine.
4. Make cinnamon filling while waiting for dough by combining filling ingredients in a medium bowl and mixing thoroughly.
5. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle, approximately 18″ x 12″.
6. Spread cinnamon filling over dough evenly. Leave about 1/2″ border.
7. Roll up dough jelly-roll style to form a long log.
8. Cut log down the middle, the long way.
9. Braid by wrapping the two cut pieces around each other, always leaving the cut sides up.
10. Pinch ends of dough so that they will bake together.
11. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until golden brown.