Cinnamon Swirl Bread

It has been awhile since I have chosen to get out the old loaf pan to bake some bread. I had another dessert to make last night so I thought this would be easy and good for church. I found this recipe a few months ago on another food blog called “Bake or Break.” I’m not sure if this is an original recipe of hers or she might have found it somewhere else. It was easy to make, but I did learn a few things during assembly. I toasted my pecans in the oven on a cookie sheet lined with foil while the oven was preheating. Three minutes was too long for such few nuts. Also, my nose did not tell me when they were done as the famous Rachael Ray likes to say. So keep a close eye on the nuts. Also, this bread is hard to test for doneness with a toothpick because of the cinnamon sugar swirl in the middle. So, 50 minutes should about cover it. One more thing, I did not have a loaf pan of those measurements. My standard Pyrex loaf pan worked just fine and it was a ½ inch smaller all the way around than the one stated in the directions.
The top of the bread is very crunchy, and the entire thing is not very messy. It would be a good one to wrap in cellophane and tie on a bow to give to someone. The taste is a lot like a cinnamon coffee cake but in an easy to carry loaf.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup cooking oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease/flour/spray the bottom and sides of a 9″x5″x3″ loaf pan. Combine 1/3 cup of sugar, pecans, and cinnamon. Set aside.
Combine 1 cup of sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat egg. Then, stir in milk and oil. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the egg mixture. Stir just until mixed. Do not overmix.
Pour half of the batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon mixture. Repeat. With a wide rubber scraper or spatula, swirl mixtures together with a down and up circular motion.
Bake for 50 minutes or until done. Cool.