Best Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Recipe
March 28th, 2022 | Back to Blog Listing

Make sure that the starter is super bubbly
Having made dozens of near perfect sourdoughs at this point and having experimented with a variety of my own recipes for the perfect cinnamon raisin variety, I believe I have found the one that I'll stick with. It should be noted right off the bat that because cinnamon naturally inhibits the work of yeast in the proofing dough, many recipes call for adding additional yeast into the dough. I've actually found that this is unnecessary and merely requires letting the dough proof a bit longer than it normally might. Given the temperature of my own house, most sourdough will proof for me in about 8 hours time. This one takes closer to 12 hours, but comes out perfect every time.

I've also experimented with combinations of flour (between white, whole wheat, and rye) and have actually found that just using 100% bread flour works the best.

Build your starter however you normally do, but just make sure that the starter is super gaseous before you actually use it for the bread. It should float like a cork when you mix it with water.

The Recipe

In a large wooden mixing bowl add:
  • 520g white bread flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2.5 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
  • 110g raisins (no need to pre-soak them)
  • 40g raw sugar
Mix the dry ingredients before you add the starter so that they're evenly distributed.

In a measuring cup (or similar container) stir:
  • 90g starter
  • 385g water
Use a fork to mix 90g of your starter in 385g of water. Then pour the mixture into the bowl. Stir it up like you normally would for any other sourdough until it has a good doughy consistency. If it seems overly dry, add another tablespoon of water before starting the proofing process.


The dry mixture before stirring it up


Proofing and Folding

I use two initial folds 15 minutes apart and then two final post-proof folds.

Once the dough has been made, let it sit for 15 minutes and be sure to cover it with a damp cloth. After 15 minutes, do your initial folding, being sure to turn the bowl 90 degrees before each of the 4 folds. Once done, cover it with the damp cloth and let it sit another 15 minutes. After another 15 minutes passes (30 minutes from start), repeat the same folding process. Again, cover with a damp cloth and now let it sit for 12 hours.

After 12 hours, the dough should have risen to a satisfactory level and with any luck, you'll even find some gas bubbles trapped at the top of the dough. Perform the post-proofing folding the first time and replace the dough back into the mixing bowl. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and after this fold, place it into a metal bowl lined with parchment paper.


The final product
Sprinkle cinnamon, sugar, and white flour atop the dough and place it in the refrigerator for an hour. While it's cooling, set your oven to bake at 500 degrees and place your dutch oven inside. After an hour, remove the dough from the fridge and use your lame to make the top cut. Remove the dutch oven from the oven, move the chilled dough into the dutch oven (I always add plenty of parchment paper so that I can just pick it up like handles) and place it into the dutch oven. Put the dutch oven back into your oven with the lid on.

Bake for 21 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid. Bake for another 11 minutes.