The Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread That Outshines Pepperidge Farm In Quality And Texture

Cinnamon raisin bread is what happens when regular bread meets pastry, and it's oh-so-right. This confectionery classic is a quick way to upgrade the morning meal, the perfect candidate for a smear of butter or cream cheese. When there isn't enough time to whip up our homemade cinnamon swirl raisin bread recipe, store-bought works, too — but not all loaves are created equal. To get to the bottom of the matter, we embarked on a thorough taste test, and in Tasting Table's ranking of seven store-bought cinnamon raisin bread brands, When Pigs Fly Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread ranked higher (2nd place) than Pepperidge Farm at 3rd place. Both loaves left us impressed and satisfied, but there's a reason (a few, actually) why When Pigs Fly ultimately outperformed its competitor.

This standout offering infuses a classically sweet-spiced loaf with another unexpected flavor note: The tangy dimensionality of sourdough. Unlike many oft-spied grocery store brands, When Pigs Fly submits a sourdough loaf that also happens to be rippled with cinnamon and dotted with raisins. As we mentioned in our review, "This feels like the highest-quality bread of the bunch, with thick swirls of cinnamon and huge, ultra-moist raisins in every nook and cranny of the bread. It has that freshly baked texture you'd look for in bakery bread, and it offers just a hint of that acidity you expect from sourdough." A gourmet slice from this loaf doesn't feel like we're sacrificing the luxurious, swoon-inspiring experience of digging into a breakfast pastry — it's more akin to cinnamon streusel pancakes or gooey cinnamon rolls than a plain old slice of bread. 

Just ask the bakers: A Reddit thread in r/Sourdough sings the praises of making fully-loaded cinnamon raisin bread from a sourdough bread base. When Pigs Fly offers a quicker premade alternative to taking the homemade route. Pepperidge Farm's Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread, by comparison, offers a more traditional, quintessential "cinnamon raisin bread" experience. It's "a solid product," as our taste-tester points out, and widely available at many grocery stores. Still, while Pepperidge Farm's loaf certainly gets the job done, it fails to deliver the same je ne sais quoi factor as When Pigs Fly's inventive sourdough-style offering. Perhaps best of all, we can actually recognize and pronounce every single ingredient listed on When Pigs Fly's nutrition label – praise which can't be said of Pepperidge Farm's processed offering.

Admittedly, this impressive sourdough-style cinnamon raisin loaf comes with two notable drawbacks: An above-average price tag and scarce availability. The brand's website currently lists each pre-sliced loaf at a retail price of $10.74. But any initial sticker shock might be eased by the fact that these oversized loaves clock in at 20 ounces, outweighing most standard loaves available on supermarket shelves. The When Pigs Fly loaf is also more affordable than the lackluster Raisin' the Roof loaf by Dave's Killer Bread ($13.55 per 18 ounces at Walmart), which fell to last place in our taste test for its barely-there flavor. With our raisin-dotted darling, by contrast, that sourdough tang delivers a foundational base note that sets it apart from the rest of the pack in both the flavor and texture departments — which is well worth shelling out a little extra for at breakfast time.