The magic of turning yeast, flour and sugar into a gorgeous loaf still mystifies most people, which makes bread one of the most impressive gifts in the home cook's repertoire. You don't need to tell your friends and family how easy it actually is. Golden brown and coated in glistening cinnamon sugar, these loaves look great on their own. But the addition of a swirl of more sugar on the inside means an additional burst of surprise the first time your recipient slices into the present.
If you have extra loaf pans, you can turn this whole process into an assembly line by beginning another batch an hour after you started the first. In a leisurely day of baking you can make enough loaves to cover the kids' teachers, your therapist and your hair stylist, with a few left over for your own consumption.
Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
(adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart)
This article appears in Dec 2-8, 2009.