Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Loaf
BY Brimly.September 13, 2026
Photo By Editors @ the Brimly Test Kitchen
Bake: 120 MinPREP: 30 minGluten-freeServes: 12 Now, Why This Recipe and What Makes It Special?
It is not officially fall. The calendar is very clear about this. And yet the moment we started mapping out Back to Basics, our month of breads, I took one look at the list and thought: cinnamon. It has to be cinnamon. Nobody asked me to make that call. I made it anyway.
Here is what surprised me. I had never once eaten a gluten-free, gum-free, soy-free cinnamon raisin bread. Not a slice, not a bite, not at a bakery, not at home. So this loaf was a first for me in the truest sense of the word, and it tasted like a first, in the very best way. The flavor is warm and full. The smell is the scrumptious. It scents up the entire house while it bakes, and then it keeps going. I have caught that cinnamon coming through the bag it was stored in, sitting on the counter, minding its own business. Rude, honestly. Wonderful, but rude.
This one is a bread machine loaf, which is a given around here. I am still working toward gluten-free recipes you can make straight in your home oven, and I will get there. In the meantime the machine does something I genuinely love, which is take the whole production out of my hands. No shaping, no rolling, no kneading, no going back to the bowl. Everything goes into the pan, the lid closes, and a few hours later there is bread. The process never wears me out, and that is a big part of why I keep coming back to it.
Fair warning before you start: this loaf leans a little sweeter. It reads more like a dessert bread than a breakfast bread, and some of you will feel that immediately. I eat it for breakfast anyway. I toast it, I sit with it, and it makes the house feel like fall showed up early. No regrets.
Lessons Learned
Chop your raisins. Please. I am asking nicely. If you drop them in whole, they will sink straight to the bottom of the pan and stay there, and you will end up with a loaf that has a raisin situation at the base and nothing up top. Chopping them makes them lighter and lets them disperse through the batter. And yes, batter. Gluten-free bread machine bread mixes into a batter, not a dough, which is one of the many ways this baking lives in its own world.
Go a shade darker on the crust. This is preference more than rule, but I like the darker setting here. It brings out a toastier smell and a deeper flavor along the edge, and it gives the loaf a little more character. Medium works perfectly well if that is what your machine wants to do.
Let it cool all the way. I know. It smells incredible and you want in. Give it 45 minutes to an hour on a cooling rack before you slice. That trapped steam is what keeps the crumb moist, and cutting in early lets it all escape and dries the loaf out faster. You can tent a little foil over it if you like. Mostly, just walk away.
And the yeast. The yeast is the whole ballgame, and I have the failed loaves to prove it. The first time I made this I reached for standard rapid rise and got a loaf with a dip in the top and less rise than I wanted. Once I switched to bread machine yeast, or rapid rise plus with dough enhancer (I use Fleischmann's), the struggle stopped completely. One packet. That is it. A bread machine bakes differently than an oven does, and it needs a yeast built for that.
How to Make It Your Own
The cinnamon sugar topping is where most of your choices live. You brush a little butter over the loaf the second it comes out and shower it with cinnamon sugar. It is technically optional. I would not skip it. When you reach that part of the crust, you will understand why I am being pushy about it. If you want it lighter, use 2 Tbsp of butter instead of the ¼ cup and it still works beautifully. If you want the loaf plain, leave the topping off entirely and let the cinnamon in the batter carry it.
From there, small moves. You can leave the raisins out. You can crush up some toasted pecans, not too fine, and add them in when it is time for the mix-ins. You can pull the cinnamon back or push it further. And if you want a properly sweet, dessert-leaning loaf, an extra tablespoon or two of white sugar will get you there.
I will be honest, though. I love this one exactly as written. Bake it as is the first time, see how you feel about it, and then go play. That is my whole philosophy on it.
Pro Tip: Do not skimp on the yeast. Bread machine yeast or rapid rise plus, every single time. It is the difference between a loaf with a proud domed top and a loaf with a crater in it, and no other ingredient in this recipe has that kind of power.
Summary Notes:
This is a gluten-free, gum-free, soy-free cinnamon raisin loaf that comes together in the bread machine with no shaping and no fuss. It bakes up soft and sweet-leaning, it makes your whole house smell like autumn, and it is excellent toasted. Chop the raisins, use the right yeast, let it cool, and it will do exactly what you want it to.
Tried it? Let us know how it went in the comments below.
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Ingredients
2¾ cups (360 g) gluten-free flour (no xanthan gum) [BUY]
½ cup (70 g) potato starch [BUY]
½ cup (70 g) cornstarch [BUY]
2 Tbsp flaxseed meal [BUY]
¼ cup (28 g) milk powder [BUY]
2½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp fine sea salt
¾ cup (110 g) whole raisins
1½ cups (360 mL) whole milk, room temp
3 extra large eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp vegetable oil, or neutral cooking oil
2 Tbsp melted unsalted butter
¼ cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
½ cup (100-110 g) light brown sugar, packed
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp finely grated orange zest (optional)
1 packet instant yeast (2¼ tsp or 7 g)
Recipe Steps
Step 1
Cover the raisins with hot water and let them soak for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly and pat them completely dry. Reserve 1 Tbsp of the flour mixture and toss it with the raisins until lightly coated.
Step 2
Place the bread pan into your bread machine. Add the milk, beaten eggs, corn oil, melted butter, yogurt, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and vanilla directly into the pan. If using the orange zest, add it now.
Step 3
In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, potato starch, cornstarch, flaxseed meal, milk powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Step 4
Pour the dry ingredients evenly over the wet ingredients. Do not stir.
Step 5
Make a small well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast.
Step 6
Select the gluten-free cycle on your bread machine and start it. When the machine signals for mix-ins, add the flour-coated raisins.
Step 7
Allow the bread machine to complete the entire cycle.
Step 8
Remove the loaf from the pan and cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
Mix together 2 Tbsp granulated sugar and 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Brush the warm loaf with melted butter and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the top. As the loaf cools, the topping develops a delicate crackly finish.
Storage:
Store the bread in an airtight container or sealed bag at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 7 days, reheating or toasting slices as needed to bring back its softness.
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