One thing I loved to do was bake bread. I've spent many afternoons waiting for my dough to rise and pounding out my attitude on a poor piece of dough. But sometimes I did things the easy way. Cinnamon Bread is one of those easy recipes. You don't have to wait for dough to rise. It doesn't take hour upon hour to taste the finished results. It does, however, make your house smell wonderful. Cinnamon always does that.
Cinnamon Bread
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice added
1/3 cup corn oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
Combine all ingredients with an electric mixer. I always combine my dry ingredients and stir together before adding to everything else. When measuring the flour, be sure to lightly spoon it into a measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. So many people don't realize this and they use the scoop method. ie. They use the measuring cup to scoop the flour from it's container. That packs the flour in and causes you to use too much. Then the bread or cake or whatever is too dry and you can't figure out why. Now you know.
Beat all the ingredients together until fully mixed. You can substitute one cup of buttermilk for the milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice if you'd like. I just never have buttermilk in the house so I'm accustomed to using the substitute.
Pour batter into a greased and floured 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
Streusel
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons margarine or butter, melted
Stir all ingredients together. Pour over batter top. Take a small knife and gently swirl the streusel into the batter.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes, remembering that oven temperatures vary. In my oven it takes about 50 minutes. You'll know it's done when a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the bread from the pan as soon as you take it from the oven. Let it cool before slicing. Store leftovers in the refrigerator. I always reheat leftovers in the microwave because I like it just a little warm.
This bread is wonderful to freeze. I simply wrap it in plastic wrap and then put tin foil on top of that. Thaw in the refrigerator.
