Tag Archives: bread

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

19 Apr

One of the greatest sandwiches I’ve ever eaten came from a small café and bakery in Cannon Beach, Oregon.  It was a turkey sandwich, replete with fresh vegetables and fortified with huge slices of avocado.  I loved the texture, I loved the flavor, but most of all, I loved the bread.  The bread that enveloped this sandwich was a soft, thick cut white bread with a large swirl of cinnamon spiraling through it.  When I initially saw the description of the sandwich and its bread I was dubious (cinnamon bread with a turkey and avocado sandwich?), but as soon as I took my first bite of the sandwich, all my suspicions went out the window.  The bread was sturdy enough to hold together a generous pile of fillings, but soft enough to make each and every bite of that sandwich an absolute treasure.  The cinnamon flavor in the bread was very subtle, and the swirl in which the cinnamon was contained had the same texture as the rest of the bread. The bread had a pillowy crust, a delicate chew, and it was the perfect savory pairing for a sandwich.

This is not that bread.

Whereas the bread from that bakery was gentle in texture and flavor, this bread is loud and commands your attention from the get go.  The first thing you notice about this bread is the shatteringly crisp cinnamon sugar crust that crackles loudly as you slice into it.  The second thing to catch your eye is the gooey cinnamon swirl that puddles into thick caramelized drops as it slowly creeps out of each slice.

The next aspect is the toothsome chew of the bread, not bubbly and chewy like a crisp ciabatta, but certainly not yielding and soft.  Biting into this bread is like biting into something a bit less sandwich-y, a bit more dessert-ish.  It’s not entirely in the realm of a dessert, but it is certainly the sort of thing that, sliced, toasted, and spread with cream cheese or (why not?) Nutella, would easily satisfy anyone’s craving for a sweet roll or sticky bun.

This is, come to think of it, yet another defining characteristic of this bread.  It’s a perfectly sweet baked good that can be enjoyed as a snack, as an accompaniment at breakfast, or as a companion to a cup of tea, but the whole time you are enjoying it, you are overcome with the mild notion that you might just be getting away with something slightly mischievous.  It’s not a dessert!  It’s a snack!  It’s not a cinnamon roll!  It’s cinnamon bread.  And now that I’ve given you every excuse to eat this bread, I think that pretty much means you no longer have any excuse not to get up and make it right now.

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

Barely adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

I am of the opinion that if you are going to make bread with raisins in it, make bread with raisins in it. I found the original recipe’s raisin requirement to be far too scant, so I’ve taken the liberty of doubling the amount in the version below.  Conversely, if you don’t care for raisins, they can be left out to no ill effect.

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/4 cups warm milk (not skim, but 1% to whole is fine), heated to around 110 degrees

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for brushing

2 large egg yolks

3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup raisins

Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a small bowl.  Measure out 2 tablespoons and reserve for the topping.  Whisk the milk, melted butter, and yolks together in a large liquid measuring cup or medium bowl.

Combine 3 1/2 cups of the flour, yeast, salt, and 1/4 cup of the cinnamon sugar in a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook, or in a large bowl.  With the mixture on low speed, or if not using a standing mixer, with a rubber spatula, add the milk mixture and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes.

Increase the mixer speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.  If after 4 minutes more flour is needed, add the remaining 1/2 flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom.  If kneading by hand, turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured counter and knead by hand for 12-18 minutes, adding the remaining 1/2 cup flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead in raisins by hand until evenly distributed. Continue to knead the dough, forming it into a smooth, round ball.  Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and press into a 20 x 8 inch rectangle with the short side facing you.  Spray the dough lightly with water, then sprinkle evenly with the remaining cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1/2 inch border at the far edge.  Lightly spray the cinnamon sugar with water until it is damp but not wet.

Loosen the dough from the counter with a bench scraper or metal spatula, then roll the dough into a tight cylinder and pinch the seam closed.  Place the loaf seam side down in the prepared pan.  Mist the loaf with vegetable oil spray, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size and the dough barely springs back when poked with a knuckle, 45 to 75 minutes.

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Brush the loaf lightly with melted butter, sprinkle with the reserved  2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar, then spray lightly with water. Bake until golden, 40 to 60 minutes, rotating the loaf halfway through baking.  Cool the loaf in the pan for 15 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before serving.

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Simple Rosemary Focaccia

4 Mar

Like many people, I used to approach bread baking with a slight sense of fear and confusion.  On the rare occasion that I attempted a simple yeasted dough for something relatively non-threatening (we’re talking pizza dough here, and not, say brioche or pane pugliese), I was never satisfied with the results of the dough’s rise (everything always seemed to turn out rather squat and tough), and was therefore convinced that I was just not equipped with the proper set of skills or instincts with which most bread bakers seemed to have been born.  Was my kneading technique not the right mix of gentle-yet-firm?  Was my kitchen too cold to coax out the dough’s full rise?  Did I need to go out and buy a baking stone?  Did I add too much salt?  Not enough?

As it turned out, the problem with my efforts was attributable not to a lack of technique or savvy, but rather to a lack of something even less instinctual: urgency.  On every single one of my yeasted dough escapades, I was working with envelopes of yeast that had been purchased several months, sometimes even a year, previous, always while in the midst of a brief burst of bread baking confidence.  Predictably, it always took me much longer than I had originally anticipated work up the gumption to attempt another yeasted recipe, so by the time I broke open the package of yeast, it was barely clinging on to life.  Even under the best of circumstances, old and lifeless yeast is never going to bring an effervescent lift to dough, so, unbeknownst to me at the time, I was basically starting my task like Sisyphus in a boulangerie.

So if you have a fear or dark anticipation of bread baking, might I offer you two bits of advice?  The first bit of advice will be fairly obvious: throw away your old envelopes of yeast right now and make a fresh start by buying brand new yeast that is still full of bubbling life.  The second bit of advice?  Make this dead simple focaccia.

A perfect gateway recipe for first-time bread bakers, this focaccia requires no kneading, no special tools, and calls for just a handful of simple ingredients.  Crisp, but with a light and toothsome chew, it’s simple to prepare, boasts an effortless rise, and bakes perfectly in mere minutes.

 

Chances are, you’ve already got most of the ingredients in your house right now, and if you don’t, no worries.  If you have to go to the store to buy some yeast, at least you’ll know it’s still fresh.

Rosemary Focaccia

From Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Bread Bible

3/4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup room temperature or warm water

4 teaspoons olive oil

1 scant tablespoon fresh rosemary needles

1 large garlic clove, coarsely chopped

flaky sea salt

black pepper

Mix the dough: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and sugar.  Then whisk in the salt (this keeps the yeast from coming into direct contact with the salt, which would kill it).  Make a well in the center and pour in the water.  Using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, gradually stir the flour into the water until all the flour is moistened and a dough just begins to form, about 20 seconds.  It should come away from the bowl but still stick to it a little, and be a little rough looking, not silky smooth.  Do not overmix, as this will cause the dough to become stickier.

Let the dough rise: Pour the oil into a small bowl or 2-cup measuring cup.  With oiled fingers or an oiled spatula, place the dough in the bowl or cup and turn it over to coat on all sides with the oil.  Cover it tightly and allow it to sit at room temperature for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F 30 minutes before baking: Have an oven shelf at the lowest level and place baking stone or heavy baking sheet on it before preheating.

Shape the focaccia and let it rise: With oiled fingers, lift the dough out of the bowl or cup.  Holding the dough in one hand, pour a little of the oil left in the bowl or cup onto a baking sheet and spread it all over the sheet with your fingers.  Set the dough on top and press it down with your fingers to deflate it gently.  Shape it into a smooth round by tucking under the edges.  If there are any holes, knead very lightly until smooth.  Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, covered, to relax it.

Using your fingertips, press the dough from the center to the outer edge to stretch it into a rectangle about 9 inches by 6 inches and 1/4 inch high.  If the dough resists, cover it with plastic wrap and continue pressing on it with your fingers.  Brush the top of the dough with any oil remaining in the bowl or measuring cup and cover it with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise for 20-30 minutes more, or until light and spongy looking.

Bake the focaccia: Using your fingertips, press deep dimples at 1-inch intervals all over the dough.  Sprinkle it with the rosemary, salt, and pepper.  Place baking sheet with the focaccia on the preheated hot stone or hot baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, slide a pancake turner underneath the dough to loosen it, and slip it directly onto the stone or heavy baking sheet (this means you will be removing the oiled baking sheet upon which the focaccia spent the first 5 minutes baking).  Continue baking for another 5 minutes or until the top begins to brown around the edges.

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