Cinnamon Chip Bread-Great Harvest Copycat

SO SORRY ABOUT THE ABSENCE!!

I'd like to give you every excuse in the book, but probably the most relevant was having had a baby a few weeks ago. We are completely in love with #3, and I'm now ready to really start cooking again.

I can't tell you how grateful my husband is for me to not be pregnant anymore! It always means I start cooking those things I couldn't stand the smell of for how many months now. It also means I have a little more energy to cook those things. :)

This recipe is a GREAT copycat, thanks to the blog Eat Cake for Dinner. The down-side is you really do HAVE to follow the recipe exactly! Not always so easy when you have kid #1 and #2 trying their best to make the bread by themselves. It still turned out better than I was hoping.

I ended up serving this bread when we had breakfast for dinner a few nights back; paired with some fruit, eggs and bacon made for a super easy dinner. Not going to lie though, this bread would be AWESOME to use for French Toast.

No matter what you decide to have with it, this bread will make your home smell like Cinnamon Rolls and making you wish it didn't take "so long" to bake. :)

Copycat Great Harvest Cinnamon Chip Bread:
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast                1 large egg
1/3 c. sugar                                      1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. warm water                               4 1/2-5 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. warm milk                                1 c. cinnamon chips, no more
1/3 c. vegetable oil
In a bowl of a stand mixer combine yeast, sugar and warm water and allow to sit for 5 minutes. It should be bubbly and frothy. If it does not get frothy, start over. Add the warm milk, oil and egg. Mix to combine. Slowly add 2 cups of flour, mix and then add the salt. Begin adding the remaining flour, 1/2 c. at a time, until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. The dough will be very sticky, but the softer the dough, the lighter the bread will be. So, use the least amount of flour you can handle.
Add the cinnamon chips and mix just until incorporated. Since the dough is warm, the chips will melt everywhere if you mix it too long. Transfer the dough to a greased mixing bowl and allow to rise until doubled in size. Punch down dough and divide in half. Form each half into a loaf and place into two greased loaf pans. Allow to rise until doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Makes 2 loaves.