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Home » Recipes » Winter

Cinnamon Raisin Walnut No-Knead Bread

Published: Jan 17, 2022 by Coley · This post may contain affiliate links.

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This easy no knead cinnamon raisin walnut bread has an incredible texture and flavor with minimal effort. The golden raisins add sweetness and the walnuts add crunch with just the right amount of cinnamon mixed in. Only 15 minutes of active cooking - time does all the hard work for you!

a loaf of cinnamon raisin walnut bread sliced

Why this recipe works

  • Simple no knead technique adapted from the great Jim Lahey
  • Requires minimal time and effort
  • A long rise develops better texture and flavor
  • Easy for beginners - no experience necessary
  • Only 7 ingredients
  • Makes the best cinnamon toast!

Essential Ingredients

  • Raisins - I love golden raisins for their fruitiness and color but dark raisins will work just as well.
  • Flour - All purpose does the trick but you can also use bread flour if you wish.
  • Yeast - Instant, quick rise, rapid rise, and active dry will all work

Helpful Tools

  • Bench Scraper - One of my most used tools in the kitchen. It's essential for cutting and moving around dough and is great for cleaning caked-on flour off your counters.
  • Bowl Scraper - Similar to a bench scraper but made of a flexible material, a bowl scraper does exactly what it says. Can also be used like a bench scraper.
  • Dutch Oven - Creates a hot steamy environment for the bread to develop a nice crust. It doesn't have to be one of the expensive French ones. See FAQ for substitutions.

Loaf of cinnamon raisin walnut bread on a cutting board with purple napkin

Step by Step Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar, cinnamon and yeast.
  2. Add the raisins and walnuts and mix to coat.
  3. Pour in the water and stir until just combined.
  4. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and place the bowl in a warm, draft free spot to rise for 12-18 hours (I like to do it overnight). The dough is ready when it smells yeasty, is more than doubled in size and is dotted with bubbles all over.
  5. Turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, dust with flour, then turn it over onto itself twice, like a book.
  6. Gently shape the dough into a ball, then cover with a towel and let rise for an additional hour.
  7. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place a large dutch oven or other oven-proof pot with a lid into the oven as it heats up and leave it in there for at least 30 minutes to get nice and hot.
  8. Score the top of the dough with a sharp knife, then use a bench scraper to carefully transfer it to the pot.
  9. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and allow it to cook for another 10-30 minutes, depending, to let it get deep brown and caramelized.
  10. Remove bread from the dutch oven and allow it to cool completely before slicing.
side view of a sliced loaf of cinnamon raisin walnut bread

Tips for Success

  • Make sure your yeast is active. Check the expiration date and if you've had it for a while, try proofing it in warm water first to make sure it's still alive. Store opened yeast packets in the fridge or freezer.
  • If making this bread in cold weather, you will likely need all 18 hours for it to rise. In warmer summer months it will rise much quicker. You will know it's ready when it has more than doubled in size and the surface is filled with bubbles.
  • The dough should be quite sticky. Avoid adding too much excess flour along the way.
  • For the best accuracy, use a kitchen scale to measure ingredients

Faq about Cinnamon Raisin Walnut No-Knead Bread

Can this be made with whole wheat flour?

Yes, but you'll have the better results if you mix half wheat flour and half all purpose flour. Using all whole wheat will result in a dense bread.

Can this be made with gluten free flour?

I don't recommend making this gluten free. Try this Paleo Pecan Streusel Banana Bread instead!

Why did my bread turn out dense?

There may have been too much flour added or it may have not risen enough. It will likely need the full 17-18 hours to rise unless it's very warm where you are.

Why did my bread burn?

Your oven may run hot (it's common), so check with a separate oven thermometer and make adjustments as needed. Also, make sure the convection setting is not turned on.

What if I don't have a Dutch oven?

Any large oven-safe pot with a cover can be used. Just make sure it's large enough to hold the bread and can withstand a very high oven temperature. If you don't have a lid, you can use heavy duty tin foil, but make sure it's very tightly sealed.

How should I store this bread?

This bread will dry out and go stale within a day or two. The best way to preserve it is to slice it and freeze in a zip-top bag or airtight container. Simply defrost a slice when you're ready to eat or add it straight to the toaster from the freezer.

slices of cinnamon raisin walnut bread, one in the foreground with butter

Related Recipes

  • Easy Cinnamon Rolls
  • Everything Bagel Pull Apart Bread with Scallion Cream Cheese
  • Meyer Lemon Focaccia
  • Scaccia Ragusana: Sicilian "Pizza Babka"

Did you make this recipe and LOVE it? Please leave a star ⭐️ rating and/or comment to help other readers. I absolutely love hearing from you and do my best to answer all questions and comments. I love seeing when you make my recipes, so please tag me @ColeyCooks on Instagram and I will repost!

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front view of a loaf of cinnamon raisin walnut bread with a few slices on a cutting board

Cinnamon Raisin Walnut No-Knead Bread

★★★★★ 4.7 from 6 reviews
  • Author: Nicole Gaffney (ColeyCooks.com)
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour plus 15-20 hours inactive rise time
  • Yield: 1 loaf 1x
  • Category: bread
  • Method: baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This easy to make no-knead cinnamon raisin bread takes minimal effort, yet produces a bread with incredible flavor and texture. Plus, it makes the most amazing cinnamon toast. Adapted from Jim Lahey. 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 cups (370-390 g) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 2 teaspoons (12 g) salt
  • 3 tablespoons (43 g) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon (8 g) cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon (3 g)  instant yeast
  • 1 ½ cups ( 355 ml)luke-warm water
  • 1 scant cup walnuts
  • 1 scant cup golden raisins (regular raisins are fine)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar, cinnamon and yeast.
  2. Add the raisins and walnuts and mix to coat, then pour in the water and stir until just combined.
  3. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and place the bowl in a warm, draft free spot to rise for 12-18 hours (I like to do it overnight). The dough is ready when it smells yeasty, has more than doubled in size and is dotted with bubbles all over.
  4. Turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, dust with flour, then turn it over onto itself twice, like a book. Gently shape the dough into a ball, then cover with a towel and let rise for an additional hour.
  5. In the meantime preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place a large dutch oven or other oven-proof pot with a lid into the oven as it heats up and leave it in there for 30 minutes to get nice and hot.
  6. Score the top of the dough with a sharp knife, then use a bench scraper to carefully transfer it to the pot.
  7. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and allow it to cook for another 10-30 minutes, depending, to let it get deep brown and caramelized.
  8. Remove bread from the dutch oven and allow it to cool completely before slicing.

Notes

  • It will likely take at least 16 or the whole 18 hours for the bread to rise unless it's very warm where you are.
  • Bread will keep, wrapped tightly, at room temperature for up to 3 days. I prefer to slice the bread then place it in a zip-top bag and freeze it. Slices can be removed straight from the freezer and toasted for best results.

Keywords: no knead, bread, cinnamon raisin, walnuts, toast, butter, easy, recipe

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Tag @coleycooks on Instagram and hashtag it #coleycooks

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  1. Danielle

    January 06, 2017 at 4:38 pm

    I love those photos. So warm and cozy. We're actually getting a "cool" front this weekend, so I think it's time for me to give this bread a shot.
    So excited to hear about that Chile trip! Please eat some seabass for me. I know it's not a sustainable choice, but damn it's worth the occasional splurge.

    Reply
    • Coley

      January 07, 2017 at 2:35 pm

      Do it! And please have that extra slice for me. Now about that Chilean seabass... is it actually from Chile? I'm with ya though... Not sustainable, but sooo buttery and delicious.

      Reply
      • Danielle

        January 10, 2017 at 2:47 pm

        They're really Patagonian toothfish, and they do fish for them there, but I guess they're not that popular on menus. Hope you have an amazing trip. Can't wait to hear about all the food and see all the pics!

        Reply
        • Coley

          January 10, 2017 at 3:58 pm

          I am usually obsessive about researching anything and everything about a place before I go, but there's not a whole lot about Chile out there (at least for towns were headed to). That said, I didn't see any mention of Chilean sea bass in any of my searches. I wonder if they call it something different there? They must! Right? I will be sure to do some digging once I'm there to find out, and if it's on the menu, I'm ordering it. When in Rome...

          Reply
  2. Vidya

    January 27, 2018 at 5:39 pm

    Hi would you know if active yeast would work for the recipe? Thank you

    Reply
    • Coley

      January 28, 2018 at 6:21 pm

      absolutely!! go for it. 😀

      Reply
  3. K. G

    January 12, 2020 at 4:26 pm

    Easy, delicious no knead bread

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Coley

      January 13, 2020 at 9:09 am

      thank you!

      Reply
  4. .Marie

    March 08, 2020 at 6:05 pm

    Not happy with finished product. Produced a load that is very tight and heavy. Thinking only a half teaspoon of yeast just isn't enough.

    Reply
    • Coley

      March 09, 2020 at 8:46 am

      I'm sorry this didn't work for you, Marie. How long did you let the dough rise overnight? Did it fully double in size? If not, you may have needed to leave it longer or there's a chance your yeast was bad. I would give it another try!

      Reply
  5. Diaa

    May 11, 2020 at 6:44 pm

    Hi
    Can I use half the quantity or will it be small? if yes for the half, do I need to just use half of all ingredients?

    Reply
    • Coley

      May 13, 2020 at 9:11 am

      I've never tried it but I don't see why not. Yes, your loaf will be small and therefore will require a much shorter bake time. If you do it, let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
      • Carrie Reed

        December 11, 2021 at 6:58 pm

        I had the same experience as another baker in that the dough didn’t rise enough and felt dense after 16 hours. Since I only used a portion of the yeast package I proofed the rest and it foamed up beautifully so it wasn’t my yeast. I ended up putting the dough into my food processor with the dough blade and added the extra proofed yeast and a bit more flour and it rose very nicely and was good when baked. The processor pretty much decimated the raisins and walnuts though so I’ll give it another try in the future. The temperature was a bit too high as well so I’ll have to adjust it lower next time so my crust doesn’t scorch (I baked as directed and only did 5 additional minutes with the lid off but it scorched on the top and bottom). I do t know what could have gone wrong, I followed the recipe initially until I could see it was going to be wasted if I didn’t do something. Could it be altitude? I am at 4500 feet. It’s also winter so it may not have been warm enough in my house (I put the dough into a slightly warm oven initially but it didn’t stay warm overnight). The flavor and texture are both quite good but the crust was ruined and I really like whole raisins and walnut chunks so it was disappointing.

        ★★★

        Reply
        • Coley

          January 11, 2022 at 9:21 am

          I'm sorry this didn't work out for you. The amount of yeast called for and oven temperature in the recipe are both correct. There are a few things that could have happened - If the water you added to the dough was too warm it could have killed the yeast which would have caused it not to rise. Similarly, the oven you put it in to proof may have been too warm at first and could have killed the yeast that way as well. It also could have had to do with the altitude (unfortunately I have no experience with high altitude baking) or could have needed to take longer because of the cold temperature. As for the crust getting scorched in the oven - again, the temperature may have to be adjusted for the altitude or your oven may just run hotter (many do - get an oven thermometer to be sure). Yeast doughs can be finicky and again I'm sorry this didn't work out, but I hope you give it another try!

          Reply
  6. Helene Henry

    July 02, 2020 at 12:29 pm

    Hi! I am wondering if you can make this recipe without a dutch oven?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Coley

      July 02, 2020 at 2:26 pm

      You really do need the dutch oven, or a very large oven safe pot with a lid. The heavier, the better. You can bake it uncovered in a pan and I'm sure it would turn out okay, but you won't get the same crust as if you used the Dutch oven.

      Reply
  7. Penny

    February 21, 2021 at 8:31 am

    I forgot to add the cinnamon last night and the dough has already risen. Can I add the cinnamon in now, before baking? If so, how?

    Reply
    • Coley

      February 21, 2021 at 8:39 am

      Hmm. I would sprinkle the cinnamon over top and gently fold it in. It wil still be delicious if it’s not fully incorporated but more of a cinnamon swirl. Please report back and let me know how it works out!

      Reply
    • Penny

      February 22, 2021 at 10:21 am

      Thank you for your guidance! I added the cinnamon before folding the dough and baked it as usual. The finished bread was just as beautiful and delicious as always. Thanks for your advice and quick response. You saved the day!

      Reply
      • Coley

        March 10, 2021 at 10:04 am

        So glad it worked out!!

        Reply
  8. Nic

    January 19, 2022 at 10:53 am

    This bread makes the best cinnamon toast and always comes out delicious!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Coley

      February 10, 2022 at 1:51 pm

      SO glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  9. Ann

    April 04, 2022 at 4:50 pm

    I am so glad you added the weights of the ingredients, however do double check the cinnamon. A tablespoon weighs about 5 grams.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Coley

      April 19, 2022 at 4:13 pm

      thank you for the feedback!

      Reply
  10. Anna Richey

    May 08, 2022 at 7:17 pm

    I had recent success in making pizza crust and calzone dough (after years of failure though not really sure why when I see how easy it is) and came across this recipe somehow and decided to try it As it is my favorite kind of bread from fancy bakeries. I am not really much of a baker and this was my first attempt so I tried to follow the recipe very exactly and read Through the reviews and comments. Preparing for a dense first draft, I also read a whole bunch of troubleshooting tips on other websites BUT. It turned out absolutely perfect and I could not have been more proud!!! I proofed it inside the oven which I turned on for about a minute and then turned off. I did this because it is below 65 in my house. I left it for a full 18 hours. It was insanely sticky so I thought I failed so I read more troubleshooting tips and it did not necessarily sound like a problem so I managed to work with it and it was fine. I probably should have just put the water in more slowly /as needed and not have felt the need to add every last drop. I will make this again and feel confident to try other recipes as well. I am truly getting my moneys worth out of this Dutch oven I got this year. It’s perfect for rustic bread recipes but I also make yogurt in it.
    I toasted my walnuts first, used a combination of golden and brown raisins. I thought the recipe sounded heavy on the salt compared to other recipes even though I am very pro salt but I went with it and it was good. Oh, I did dare to use a half cup of white whole wheat flour. Thanks Coley!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Coley

      May 09, 2022 at 11:29 am

      So happy to hear this turned out well for you! Thanks for your lovely comment 🙂

      Reply
  11. Linda Dally

    May 20, 2022 at 10:47 pm

    I made this today as the recipe is written but used pecans and regular raisins. I took it to game night and shared it with friends. It was so good. I had my piece with cream cheese.

    So easy to make and so good!!

    Reply
    • Coley

      May 26, 2022 at 11:05 am

      SO glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  12. Patricia Cole

    August 01, 2022 at 6:48 am

    What size duty oven? 4 qt is what I have.

    Reply
    • Patricia Cole

      August 01, 2022 at 6:48 am

      Dutch

      Reply
      • Coley

        August 11, 2022 at 10:31 am

        a 4 quart Dutch oven will be too small. You need a 6 quart or larger

        Reply

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I'm Nicole Gaffney, but my friends all call me Coley. You should, too! I'm a chef and recipe developer specializing in seasonal, coastal Italian cooking. Here you'll find hundreds of time-tested, easy-to-follow recipes to help you become more confident in the kitchen!

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