Classic cinnamon-swirl bread with sweet-crunchy streusel on top makes wonderful toast. Spread with soft butter or peanut butter, there's nothing better — except perhaps cinnamon-swirl French toast!
Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dough ingredients, mixing until the dough begins to come away from the sides of the bowl.
Knead the dough with an electric mixer for 2 minutes; allow it to rest for 15 minutes, then continue kneading it for an additional 5 to 7 minutes, or until it's smooth. If you're kneading by hand, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface; knead it for 3 minutes; allow it to rest for 15 minutes, then continue kneading till smooth, an additional 8 to 10 minutes. You can also simply knead the dough using the dough cycle of your bread machine.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl (if you're not using your bread machine's dough cycle), cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set it aside to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours; it'll be puffy, if not doubled in bulk.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into a long, thin rectangle, about 16" x 8".
To make the filling, combine the sugar, cinnamon, raisins or currants, and flour in a food processor (mini preferred) or blender, processing until the fruit is chopped.
Brush the dough with some of the egg/water, and pat the filling onto the dough. Beginning with a short edge, roll the dough into a log. Pinch the side seam and ends closed (to keep the filling from bubbling out), and place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan.
Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 hour at room temperature, or until it's crowned about 1" over the rim of the pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl or mini processor, combine the streusel ingredients, cutting in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. If you're using a mini processor, watch carefully; streusel will go from crumbly to a cohesive mass in just a second or so.
Brush the loaf with some (or all) of the remaining beaten egg, and add the streusel, using your fingers to gently apply it to the dough, being careful not to deflate the loaf.
Bake the bread for about 45 minutes, tenting the loaf lightly with aluminum foil for the final 15 minutes or so if it appears to be browning too quickly.
Remove the loaf from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, gently remove it from the pan. Some of the streusel will fall off, but you can alleviate this by first loosening all around the edges of the loaf with a knife, then turning the pan on its side and gently pulling it away from the loaf. Streusel will continue to fall off as you maneuver the bread — we've never figured out how they make that stuff adhere so nicely on the store-bought loaves! — but you'll still be left with some nice, sweet topping.
