This was one of those weeks where it was getting to be most of the way through Saturday and I was quickly coming to the conclusion that I did not have time to bake. I began to panic. How terrible would it be if I posted a review of that awesome magic bar I had? (Go to Petsi Pies in Somerville.) Did I have anyone in mind that could guest post? (Marj, it felt too last minute to ask you.) In short, I was in a tight spot.

So I turned to my trusted source of all things speedy in the baking world: Pinterest searches for “quick breads”. Found a cinnamon roll one, refined my search terms to include “cinnamon”, and wound up with a recipe that only involved buying one ingredient, could be made with minimal prep, and during its time in the oven I could do homework. Oh, and the inclusion of cinnamon qualified it as breakfast bread. Best of all worlds.

Turns out, cinnamon bread also makes a great post-hike treat. Though I think you can say that of literally any food ever made.

First, in a large bowl whisk together the flour, one cup of sugar, baking soda, and salt.Fun fact: this is the week I learned that you can actually run out of salt. I thought it fell in the category of ingredients that are forever in your pantry (including baking powder, baking soda, and molasses), but I shook out the last of mine into this bread.

Anyways, in a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and oil.Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined.In a small bowl, combine the remaining half cup of sugar with the cinnamon.I also liked this recipe because I could use all three of my nesting yellow mixing bowls. You need to focus on the important things in life.

Spray a 9×5 inch pan with cooking spray. Spread half of the batter into the bottom.Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the top.Repeat with remaining batter and cinnamon sugar.Using a knife, cut into the dough to swirl cinnamon throughout.Bake at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.This is surprisingly tricky to determine, since the cinnamon sugar stays gooey, so use your best judgment. Allow it to cool in the pan for awhile before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.And that’s it! Store it covered at room temperature. Obviously, I’m treating this as breakfast bread, but I also think it would make excellent french toast, or, if you were patient enough to wait a couple days, an amazing base to a bread pudding.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, and oil.
3. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined.
4. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup of sugar with cinnamon.
5. Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Spread half of the batter into the bottom of the pan and top with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining halves of each.
6. Use a knife to cut into dough and swirl cinnamon.
7. Bake at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.