Warm slices of bread scented with the sweetness of cinnamon are utterly appealing at any age. Plump raisins are a bonus. With that in mind, the Good Eating staff sampled seven loaves of cinnamon-raisin bread. We looked for a tender crumb, a noticeable cinnamon aroma and moist raisins in each slice.
The top two finishers, Pepperidge Farm and Brown-berry, scored well on all those characteristics; the rest fell short. Complaints ranged from a lack of cinnamon and raisins to the almost universal beef about dry, stale bread. But all loaves were purchased and tasted within a comfortable range before their “sell-by” dates.
Seven judges tasted the breads blind and rated them on a nine-point scale, with nine being highest. Prices are what we paid and may reflect frequent-shopper card discounts. Price per-ounce is rounded to the nearest cent.
Here are the top winners, with tasters’ comments. The rest are listed in order of finish.
And the winners are . . .
1. Pepperidge Farm Swirl Raisin Cinnamon Bread. (6 points. $2.69 for 1 pound; 17 cents per ounce.) “Good swirl! Nice, appealing.” “The only bread with enough cinnamon flavor.” “Moist and soft; nice chew.”
2. Brownberry Raisin Cinnamon Bread. (5.5 points. $2.49 for 1 pound; 16 cents per ounce.) “Raisiny aroma.” “Nice balance of cinnamon and raisin flavor.” “Relatively soft texture.”
3. Sun-Maid Raisin Bread Cinnamon Swirl. (4.1 points. $2.69 for 1 pound; 17 cents per ounce.) “Moist raisins, dry bread.” “Short on cinnamon flavor.” “Dark roasted aroma from the crust.”
Others tasted
4. (tie) Whole Foods Bakehouse Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread; Wonder Premium Cinnamon Raisin Bread (3.5 points.) 5. Natural Ovens Glorious Cinnamon Raisin Bread (3.3). 6. Nature’s Cupboard Raisin with Cinnamon Bread (2.6)
