Now that I know breakfast is important, this is a great way to start the day...

At home, when I was a kid, breakfast was not emphasized as an important meal. A cup of expresso and some biscotti were pretty standard for me from the time I was starting off in school (I'll bet my teachers loved the fact that I'd started my day with expresso, back in the day when plain old coffee was practically considered an "adult drink" because kids didn't need any extra energy.)
My mother always had those ultra sweet "Swiss Rolls" with a cup of joe and my grandmother usually chose "Cream of Wheat" and a soft boiled egg. Grandmari probably started her day off better than the rest of us. My grandfather was always an early riser and was at work before I got up at 6;30 (he worked six days a week well into his 80s), so I have no idea what he ate, but I'm guessing it was something grown in the yard.
But, no one ever really talked about breakfast, or its importance.
I remember, however, eating cinnamon-raisin toast as a kid when we went, on that rare occasion, out for brunch. Slathered in butter and raw honey, it was a special treat. And one I thought was just reserved for eating out.
Not so.
This recipe for Cinnamon-Raisin Bread is easy, though it requires patience as with any yeast bread. If you want it for breakfast make it the night before. It takes more than three hours from start to finish, but it is so worth it.

Cinnamon-Raisin Bread

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast

1/4 cup of warm water

2 cups of warm milk

1/3 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of oil
2 teaspoons of salt
5 3/4 cups of flour
2 cups of  raisins
1 tablespoon of cinnamon

• In a mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water.
• Add the milk, 1/3 cup of the sugar, the oil, the salt and two cups of flour. Beat until smooth. Add the raisins and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until it's smooth and elastic, about six minutes.
• Put the dough into a greased bowl, then flip it over to grease top. Cover the bowl and let the dough  rise in a warm place until it's doubled in size, about an hour and a quarter.
• Punch the dough down and on a lightly floured surface, divide it in half.
• Roll each piece into a 15 by 7 rectangle.
• Combine the cinnamon and the remaining sugar and sprinkle the mixture over the dough. Sprinkle the surface with water. (I like to use a squirt bottle to dampen the surface, but it's up to you.)
• Starting with a short sideof each rectangle, roll the rectangle up tightly, jelly-roll style and pinch the seams and ends to seal the loaf tightly.
• Put the loaves, seam side down, into two greased 9 by 5 by 3 loaf pans.
• Cover the pans with a towel and let them rise until they've doubled in size (about an hour).
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top crust is a beautiful golden brown.

 
Vegetarian.