Pumpkin Swirl Bread

More explorations into pumpkin breads, this one from a magazine I bought last year.  Compared to this yeasted pumpkin bread, it's sweeter because of the swirl center, but otherwise similar in mild flavor.

Here's what I used:

2¼ - 2½ cups all-purpose flour 

1½ cups whole wheat flour 

1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats 

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar 

1¼ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

3/4 teaspoon salt 

2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast 

3/4 cup water 

1/2 cup canned pumpkin 

1/6 cup canola oil

1/6 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated 

1 egg 

 

Filling 

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar 

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 

In a large bowl, combine one cup all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oats, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and yeast.  In a saucepan, stir together water, pumpkin, oil, and applesauce; heat to 120F to 130F.  Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.  Add eggs; beat on high 2 minutes.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much remaining all-purpose flour to make a firm dough; turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 6 to 8 minutes to make a smooth and elastic dough; shape into a ball.  Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning to grease surface of dough. Cover with towel; let rise in warm place until double in size (about one hour). 

 

For filling, in a small bowl combine brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

 

Lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.  Punch dough down, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface; roll into an 18 x 9-inch rectangle. Spread with 2 tablespoons butter to within 1/2 inch of edges; sprinkle with brown sugar mixture.  Cover with towel; let rise in warm place until doubled in size (about 30 minutes).

 

Preheat oven to 350F.  Bake loaf 50-60 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped.  Cool bread in pan on wire rack 10 minutes, then remove from pan to cool completely.

 

I didn't have applesauce, so I tried shredding the apple and cooking it with the other ingredients, the idea being it would turn into mush in the process.  It didn't exactly fail, but I'd try something different in the future.

Chocolate and pumpkin are always a good combination!

Conclusion:   Not especially pumpkiny, especially after spreading with butter and honey or cinnamon, but still tasty. The filling added just the right amount of sweetness so you didn't need anything more. Could have used a little more salt to counter the sweetness. My only real complaint is that the outside whirl is too dry. Perhaps it was overbaked? Didn't look it, and the sugar that spilled out wasn't burned. 

Recipe: "Pumpkin Swirl Bread" via America’s Favorite Pumpkin Recipes by Centennial Kitchen 

Día de Muertos! Pan de Muerto

 

In spite of my recipes from New Mexico and from international cookbooks, I have only one recipe in my collection for Pan de Muerto.  It's in the November 2004 issue of New Mexico magazine, but reprinted from Kippy Nigh's A Taste of Mexico.  I had concerns about the recipe, particularly the amount of liquid and the high quantity of rich ingredients.  In addition, many reviews of the cookbook stated that measurements were way off, furthering my concern with quantities.  I looked up a few more recipes on line to compare, but in the end decided to work my way through the recipe I already had.  (What's the point of keeping all these books and magazines if I'm just going to go on-line all the time?)

My first concern was she listed no sugar other than what's used to proof the yeast.  The second was she uses no salt.  Then there was the large amount of eggs, cream, milk, and butter, although I could see she compensated with a large quantity of yeast.  (Still, it sounded way too wet.)  I proceeded with caution and made a few adjustments along the way.  For starters, I cut her recipe in half and adjusted her odd measurements (1/2 quart of milk?) to more common measurements.  Here's what I used, with my changes in italics and strikeout:

1 scant tablespoon dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon teaspoon brown sugar
4½ - 5 cups all purpose flour
3/8 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cream or full-fat yogurt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 egg yolk, room temperature
grated zest of 1/2 one orange (about 1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon anise seed
1 1/4 cup warm milk, approximately
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon water
pinch of salt
butter and sugar for decorating (optional)

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the teaspoon of sugar and allow to proof.  In a mixing bowl, combine 4½ cups of flour, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, yogurt, eggs, egg yolk, orange zest, anise seed, and the proofed yeast mixture; mix well either with your hands or a kneading hook, adding milk or more flour as necessary to bring the mixture to a soft dough consistency.  Knead until the dough has become somewhat springy, then add in the butter 1 - 2 tablespoons at a time, kneading well between each addition.  Continue to knead the dough until it's smooth and can be shaped into a tight ball, about 15 minutes.  Place the ball of dough in an oiled bowl and allow to rise, covered, in a warm place until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.  Turn out onto a board and knead briefly to release the excess gas.

To shape the loaves, divide the dough in half.  Using one of the halves, cut off about 3-4 tablespoons of dough and shape into a small ball.  Cut off about another 1/3 cup to roll out two logs for "bones", shaping them as desired.  Shape the remaining dough into a tight ball and place on a greased baking sheet.  (Be sure to leave room for the dough to rise.)  Mix the beaten egg with the tablespoon of water and brush the larger dough ball with a cross, then place the "bones" where you've placed the egg wash.  Brush the top of the loaf where the bones cross and place the small dough ball there.  Repeat with the second half of the dough.  Cover lightly and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 350F.  When the loaves have nearly doubled in size, about 15 minutes later, add the pinch of salt to the egg wash and brush the loaves all over.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, checking after 20 minutes, until golden brown.  Cool completely on a rack.  If desired, brush the cooled loaves with softened butter, then sprinkle with sugar.

This turned out well; I was happy with
the flavor and the texture.  The dough was

very soft, but not sticky as long as I didn't fool with it too long.  But still, a bit difficult to work with, and ended up being so soft that my loaves slid sideways a bit.  The recipe could probably do with a little less dairy.  None of the other recipes used cream or yogurt and most didn't use milk.  However, a comment on the recipe from Mexico in My Kitchen asked about using all butter instead of lard or vegetable shortening; the author responded that it was fine to do, but the bread might not be as soft.  Since I didn't want to use lard or vegetable shortening either, I knew the milk products would help produce a soft loaf.

Conclusion:  I was happy with the results, but I can't recommend this recipe because it required too many adjustments.  Next time I'll try a different one.

Recipes:  Pan de Muerto from A Taste of Mexico by Kippy Nigh, with tips on technique from Mexico in My Kitchen.  Also referenced, the recipes from The Spruce Eats and allrecipes.  

Julekake (Norwegian Christmas bread)

I used the recipe from my cookbook Christmas:  a Cook's Tour.  It came together easily enough, but the dough felt dense and heavy.  I added more water, which helped, but suspected it still was the wrong texture.  After 5 hours rising in a warm oven with barely a budge, I made up a plain water and flour dough from about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of flour and a little more yeast and kneaded it into the dough until it felt right.  That allowed the dough to rise properly, but it was very soft and loose and made the braid difficult.  (This is supposed to be a round loaf, but I wanted something more decorative.)

I thought it had over proved the second time because I didn't turn on the oven until the loaf already looked plenty large, but the crumb looked okay.  The loaf was too large, soft, and heavy to rap on the bottom after it looked baked enough (it started to break), so I used a thermometer.  I read that enriched breads need to bake to a higher temperature, 200 degrees; that brought the loaf to a darker crust than I would have liked.  And as it turned out, the bread was very dry.

It was still very good with a nice buttery flavor.  It was too sweet to glaze, as I had originally intended, but was very good with just a light spread of salted butter.  I used golden raisins and half candied lemon peel/half candied red cherries chopped small.  I would eliminate the lemon peel, simply because it turned it from cardamom bread to something almost identical to stöllen.  (However, I don't know that I would increase the cherries to make up the difference.  If I did, I think I would reduce the sugar slightly.)

Conclusion:  Delicious, but not far enough from my stöllen.

Recipe:  Julekake via  Christmas:  a Cook's Tour

Martabak manis (sweet Indonesian pancake)

"Martabak is a popular food that is delicious and very loved by the whole family," reads the copy.  I bought this mix several years ago because it looked interesting.  I held onto it for a long time (in fact it should have been used prior to April 2014), intimidated by the Indonesian directions.  Google Translate helped, but there were significant gaps.  (It doesn't help any that Translate makes up new words.  Take this translation, for example:

Timbang 285 adonan, lalu tambahkan dengan 20g (2 sendok makan penuh) butter yang sudah dilumerkan, aduk hingga tercampur rata.

which was translated into:

Weigh 285 dough, then add with 20g (2 tablespoons full) butter that has been melinjkan, stir until well blended.

Melinjkan?  What is that?  And where did it come from?  It's not English, and it wasn't in the original sentence to be translated.  A mystery.

               

I finally decided I had the directions sufficiently translated and it wasn't going to get any better, so I dove in. Here's what I used:

2 egg yolks
pancake mix
350g water
150g water
60g butter, melted and divided into 3 equal portions, plus additional
sugar
condensed milk
toppings (chocolate, cheese, nuts, etc)

In a medium-sized bowl, add the egg yolks, the pancake mix, and the 350g water and blend with a hand mixer on medium speed for 10 minutes.  Stir in the 150g water thoroughly, and allow to rest for 1 hour.

Heat a 9.5" skillet on medium heat for 5 minutes.  Measure out 285g of the batter into a bowl and stir in 20g of the melted butter.  When the pan is ready, butter the bottom and sides lightly, then add the measured-out batter.  Allow to cook for about 7 minutes, until holes have opened up across the surface like a honeycomb.  Lower the heat, sprinkle with sugar, cover, and cook for about another 3 minutes until the surface is no longer wet. 

(The surface will still be shiny.)  Remove the pancake from the pan to a cutting board and rub the surface with butter.  Pour on condensed milk and selected toppings.  Cut in half, and place one half on top of the other like a sandwich.  Rub exterior with butter if desired.  Allow to cool somewhat before cutting into wedges.  Repeat with the remaining batter, making 2 additional pancakes.  I recommend sandwiching the two whole pancakes together for convenience, rather than cutting each in half, unless you want different toppings on each. 

I found cooking the pancakes a little challenging.  (My pan was only about 7", which probably threw off the cooking.  I probably should have done only two pancakes and used the 10" skillet.)  The first one worked best, but cooked quickly.  I suspect you should let the pan reheat well before adding the next batch of batter.  The first one was cooked on the spider burner with an oiled pan; the second on the solid cover with a buttered pan.  The first one came out a bit spotted and cooked quickly, but seemed to work out best.  The second one came out with a beautiful, evenly tanned crust... except where it burned.  The third I did on the spider burner with butter, and it did the worst.  It didn't cook evenly, and one spot didn't rise at all.  (A big air bubble formed under the batter and raised it off the pan surface.)

I don't know why the instruction have you add the butter in separate batches.  Why not just add all 60g to the batter and THEN divide it up?  I can only assume the fat causes some reaction in the batter if left to sit.  In fact, the last batch of batter sat longer after the butter was added than the first two.

I cut into the first pancake immediately.  It was very spongy and didn't cut well (which is why I recommend letting them cool a little so the crust firms up), but was delicious and decadent.  Very much like a pancake, but eggier, spongier, and overly buttery.  (Probably could do without all the slathering.)  Perhaps it's better likened to a crumpet.  It was soft and rich and extremely satisfying.  I used dulce de leche plain and with toasted almonds, and chocolate ganache, all delicious.  I can imagine cheese would also be delicious, resulting in something like these Salvadoran quesadillas.  (Particularly the recipe from Global Table Adventures.)  The possibilities are endless.

I don't remember where I purchased this product, so I'm not likely to find it again.  The mix powder tasted a lot like vanilla cake.  (In fact, my only complaint was that it was overly vanilla-y.  Probably imitation flavoring.)  The ingredients on the box are wheat flour, sugar, leavening, vanilla (with an undefined adjective), and salt.

Conclusion:  I'd like to make this again, although it's so terribly decadent I'm not sure I would ever be brave enough to be left alone with it again.  I'd been thinking it was too bad that I probably wouldn't be able to find the mix again.  But after noting on the box that this is a popular Indonesian treat, it occurred to me that they probably make it from scratch.  Which means there are recipes. :)

Recipe:  Digging around on the Internet, I found a recipe that includes yeast, which would be fun to try, but this one seemed very close to the mix I made:  Martabak Manis via SortedFood.  This one at 196 Flavors also sounds good.

December ABC challenge: stollen

I spent several years in Germany as a kid. While there, my mom picked up the practice of making stollen at Christmas, so I am very familiar with it and regularly make it myself. I have my own preferred, well-tweaked recipe, but gave this one a try.  I have a lot of questions about it.

The preparation seemed overly fussy, which has been a common issue with this recipe source. I'm not sure all the steps are necessary. I normally bloom my yeast but don't bother with a sponge. One or the other seems sufficient. But after that, I don't understand why there are all the resting sessions. I also question the benefits of using the "sweetener". Zesting citrus peel releases the oil, which is where the flavor is. The longer all that surface area is exposed, the more the essence will dissipate. Mixing the zest with a little sugar before adding it to the recipe will prevent clumps of it in the dough, but I think the zest should be used immediately in order to get maximum flavor. As for shaping the dough, they lost me completely.  The instructions weren't clear, but anyway I don't know why they like such a thin layer of bread on the bottom.  I don't think it looks good, and doesn't seem like a very stable slice.

Here's what I used:

180 g mixture of raisins, currants, and cranberries, measured after plumping soaked and dried
1/2 cup rum 
250 g all-purpose flour
135 g lukewarm milk
7 g instant yeast 
2 heaping tablespoons high-gluten flour
5.5 7 g salt
1 egg yolk
40 g (salted) butter, softened
15 g sweetener (orange and lemon zest sugar)
4 teaspoons sugar
zest of 1/3 of a lemon
zest of 1/3 of an orange
150 g almond paste combined with 1/2 a small egg or one egg yolk (recipe below)
melted butter for brushing
icing sugar for dusting

Almond paste

75 g blanched almonds flour
75 g fine sugar
zest of 1/3 of an unwaxed lemon
about 17 g/ml water

1 egg yolk

A few days before making the bread, soak the dried fruits in the rum until they have plumped. Drain and dry on paper towels before using. Also make the almond paste by mixing the first three ingredients to a smooth paste, adding enough water to make it smooth and firm. Keep tightly sealed and refrigerated.

When you are ready to make the bread, bring the almond paste to room temperature, then mix with the egg yolk.  The paste should be smooth and supple. 

In a bowl, combine half the AP flour, all the yeast, the egg yolk, and lukewarm milk. Mix well with a dough whisk, cover, and let stand for 30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the dried fruit) and knead for 5 to 7 minutes with a standing mixer or about 10 to 14 minutes by hand. The dough should be smooth, supple and satiny, slightly sticky, and with good gluten development.  Add the prepared fruits and work them through the dough until evenly distributed. (If the fruit mixture is a bit wet, sprinkle on some flour before adding it to the dough.)  Form the dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover, and let it rest for 20 minutes in a warm, draft-free environment.

Shape the dough into a loaf (similar to Italian bread), cover, and let it rest again for 20 minutes in a warm, draft-free environment. Flatten the loaf with a rolling pin into an oval shape, leaving the edges a little thicker. Make a flattened log out of the almond paste, almost the length of the bread, and place it in the middle. Fold the dough in half over the paste, leaving the top half to fall just short of evenly meeting the bottom half.  Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover, and allow to rise.  This should take at least 40 minutes to 1 hour. 

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Make sure the bread is fully risen before it goes into the oven. When you think it has risen enough, gently poke the dough. If the dent remains and you feel no resistance at all, the bread is ready to bake.   If the indentation disappears, the dough needs more time.  (For a light, fluffy loaf, let the dough rise as long as possible.)  Bake the stollen for 35 minutes until golden brown, covering lightly with foil if it's browning too quickly. While still warm but not hot, rub the loaf with butter, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.  If desired, rub on a second coat of butter, then sprinkle a second time with powdered sugar.  Allow loaf to cool completely before slicing.

While I've enjoyed the change up in recipes from American standards with this recipe source, I'm happy to see its backside.  It's been a frustrating journey.  On this challenge, I had a hard time getting this dough to come together as it should.  For example, why are they using AP flour if they want good gluten development?  I had no choice but to finally add some high gluten flour after kneading the dough in a mixer for about 20 minutes with no success.  I also think the author misrepresented the amount of fruit. There was far too much in the dough---it was essentially raisin bread---and I wasn't the only one in our challenge group who got this result. I measured 180 grams of fruit, and then soaked them, but I think you're supposed to soak the fruit, and THEN measure out 180 grams. The additional wet fruit made incorporating it very difficult: the dough tore, the fruit fell out, and I had to sprinkle flour over all the wet spots to try to get things to hold together. I also did not get a huge rise (to give "light and fluffy" bread). It's obvious from the photos on their web page that they had less fruit in their bread. I've adjusted the directions accordingly.

Conclusion:  In the end, the bread was good.  It wasn't light and fluffy, but that's fine with me; I don't think stollen should be.  I couldn't taste the citrus over all the fruit, and I would have liked to have had some spices in there.  I also think there was a little too much almond paste to bread, but I'd reduce that only a small amount.  (Perhaps with less fruit the balance would be okay.)  My own recipe has a lot more butter in it, and that creates a crust with an almost deep-fried crunchiness to it, which I missed on this one.  Nonetheless, it got rave reviews from the family.

Recipes:  Our Perfect Stollen and almond paste via Weekend Bakery.

May ABC Challenge: No Knead Brioche

I've never had brioche -- at least not that I'm aware -- so I really didn't know what I was going for.  Which can be challenging, but at the same time good because I don't know whether I failed or not.  I suspect I did fail, technically, as someone said brioche should be light and airy, and this loaf definitely isn't.  But it tastes really good, so as far as I'm concerned it was a success.

I cut the recipe in half, but otherwise made it as directed.  I did not weigh my egg, though, and it looked a little on the small side.  Nonetheless, my "dough" was EXTREMELY wet, more like batter, so I added another two tablespoons of flour.  (That would be the equivalent of an additional 1/4 cup in the whole recipe.)  The end result was workable, but just barely, and only straight out of the refrigerator.  It didn't shape up smoothly as hers does in the video -- more like sticky lumps.  The second "rise", which wasn't so much a rise as a melt, with the dough just oozing together, the individual balls were barely discernible.  (This dough never rose until it was baked, but others made a similar comment.)

During baking, only the center rose.  I was having a little trouble with my oven temperature, which might have been the problem.  It produced some lovely mini volcano shapes, though, when toasted.

For a small loaf, here's what I used:

125g all purpose flour
50g unsalted Kerrygold (European style) butter, melted
35 g water at room temperature
1 egg (medium, about 110 g)
25g (1¼ tablespoons) runny honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

In a bowl, combine egg, honey, water, salt, and melted butter and whisk, somewhat vigorously, for about 30 seconds. Add the instant yeast to the flour and sift it into the mixture. Again, with enthusiasm, whisk for 30 seconds until your dough looks smooth and homogeneous. Cover your bowl and let the dough rest for two hours at room temperature. Place the dough on a floured work surface and do one or two stretch and folds. If your dough is very "elastic" and cooperative, do a few; if it starts to resist you can stop. (Mine was not resisting at all, so I did about 4 or 5.) Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with clingfilm and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours. (Mine rested 48 hours.)

To shape, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll them into balls. Place the balls two by two in a baking tin, well buttered or lined with baking paper. Cover and leave to proof for 2 to 3 hours, depending on the temperature of the dough and of the room. (Perhaps I should have just let mine sit until it was fully risen, but the dough was so heavy I don't know that it ever would have. It didn't seem to be moving at all.)

Preheat your oven to 375ºF. (If desired, brush the brioche with egg wash before baking, and/or brush it with melted butter directly after baking.) Bake at 375ºF for about 10 minutes, then turn down the oven to 320ºF and bake for another 15 minutes. If the top browns too quickly or gets too dark, cover it with aluminum foil to protect it. Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes in the pan; cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing.

Conclusion:  This was delicious, very buttery, but I'm sure I did it wrong.  The video shows soft, plump balls of dough after the second rise, just like regular bread.  Mine didn't rise at all until I baked it, and then only in the center.  The final texture was closer to pound cake, or even shortbread.   Or maybe I made a giant Madeleine.  But I'm not complaining.

Recipe:   Brioche:  The no knead version via Weekend Bakery.

Pumpkin braided loaf with cream cheese filling: semi fail

This was an experiment.  I wanted to use up leftover pumpkin puree, leftover cream cheese, and an abundance of wild yeast starter.  I really liked the Cranberry Pumpkin Rolls I made a couple months ago, so decided to start with that recipe.  I altered it somewhat to add whole wheat flour and my starter, and used the technique from the Braided Lemon Bread to incorporate the cream cheese.

I wasn't completely happy with the results, but they weren't bad.  The biggest issue was I had too much dough for one loaf; I should have reduced the recipe by half.  Because the loaf was so large, it didn't cook properly and was a little dry on the edges.  I also didn't adjust the recipe for flavor due to the whole wheat, which made it slightly bitter and overwhelmed the spices (even though they were already doubled from the original.)  I played with the braiding technique (I don't like the mummy-wrap appearance of most false braids) and was happy with the result, but I still need practice.

Some of the bitterness might have been from too much starter, but I can't be sure.  I used about a cup, which is a lot, but my starter is fairly mild.  I would like to be able to omit commercial yeast entirely, but for this loaf I included 1 teaspoon.  (My starter had been semi-dormant in the refrigerator.  I fed it only once a few hours before mixing the dough, but it bubbled nicely.)  I allowed the dough to rise in a cold room overnight the first time; it took about 10 hours.  The second rise after shaping went much more quickly because the room was warm.  I think I could get away with no commercial yeast as long as I leave plenty of time for the starter to work.

So below is not what I did, but the changes I need to make for next time.  It still might not be perfect, but it will be closer.  This is half of the original King Arthur Flour pumpkin roll recipe with the following changes:  spices and salt are increased (even more than in my rolls, to account for the whole wheat); whole wheat flour, orange juice, zest, and pecans added.  I did not account for the starter.

Dough
2¼+ cups flour (mix of all-purpose and white whole wheat)
3/8 cup+ (3 ounces) orange juice
1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (increased from 1)
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger (increased from 1/4)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 
2-3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar, light or dark
1 teaspoons salt (increased from 3/4)
1½ teaspoon instant yeast (or use starter)
3/8 cup (3 ounces) canned pumpkin or squash
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
zest of one orange
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

Filling
1/2 cup unsweetened, dried cranberries, reconstituted 
1 cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 egg, remainder reserved for wash

Mix the flour and orange juice (and starter, if using) and allow to sit for 20-25 minutes for the moisture to be absorbed.  Add the rest of the ingredients and knead until you have a soft, fairly smooth dough, adding extra water or flour if needed. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise for 1½ hours, until it's almost double in bulk.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface and gently deflate it.  Roll out the dough into an approximate 10" x 15" rectangle. (Roll on parchment paper to make moving the bread to the baking sheet easier.) Lightly press two lines down the dough lengthwise, to divide it into 3 equal sections. Roll the outer sections out another inch or so.  Spread the cream cheese filling down the center section.

Braiding technique  The center third should be slightly thicker than sides; make sure top is wide and squared off, not tapered.  Cut strips about 1" wide, slanting them upwards.  Be sure to make cuts for strips from high on the top sides to start; those need to be folded across without pulling the top into a narrower point than the rest of the loaf, so allow plenty of dough.  The very top bit can be folded down, preferably under the filling, but build up a rim so filling doesn't fall out.  Strips should be gently rolled and lengthened into ropes.  When braiding, aim strips for about two places down on opposite side -- they need to be long.  Proceed with a lattice effect, making sure not to let strips lay on filling before they are finally secured.  Each strip should do one under and one over, which will allow the end to be tucked inside.  The filling will be exposed between the strips.  Tuck the final ends under the loaf and cut off any excess dough.  Set aside, covered lightly, to rise for 1 hour, or until it looks puffy.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Mix the remaining 1/2 egg with a little water and brush over the loaf. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.  The center should read about 190⁰F.  Remove from the oven and cool for about 30 minutes before serving.  

Based on:   recipes for Cranberry Pumpkin Rolls and Braided Lemon Bread via King Arthur Flour.

October ABC Challenge: Cinnamon Apple & Cheddar Twist Bread

I'm always a little confused when someone says a baked item tastes "just like store bought!"  I realize it's supposed to be a compliment, but when did that shift happen?  When did commercial products, with all their additives and imitation flavorings, surpass homemade?  And yet, my first response to this loaf was, "It tastes like store bought."  

To me, this is not a good thing.  In this case, though, the pure apple flavor was noticeably real and not out of a bottle, which set this loaf above any store product.  The two things that did it in were 1) the princess cake flavor, and 2) the texture.  It still was a hit at work.  One coworker's response was, 

"I just had an epiphany. I think when someone says 'store bought' in terms of baked goods, what they really mean to say is 'professional'. Huge difference. That bread was amazing. It had a professional texture and crumb and I totally tasted the cheese, just the right amount. That was great!"

I bought something called "princess cake flavoring" a while ago, not knowing what it was.  I was curious.  Now I realize it's what gives store-bought pastries their distinctive store-bought taste -- something I could never before identify.  It's not necessarily a bad taste -- sort of a mild lemony-vanilla -- but I associate it with Entenmann's and other doughy, overly sweet products, so I'm not a fan.  

Which brings me to the texture... I would call it "spongy".  Had I not baked it myself, I would have thought it had artificial texturizers in it.  Many people like that soft, squishy texture, but to me it's unnatural.  But with all that being said, I nonetheless harfed down half the loaf in one sitting!  I have to admit there is something addictive about that spongy softness!

I halved the recipe to make a single loaf, so those are the quantities shown here.  Then I made a few personal changes, shown in italics and strikeout.  I changed out the glaze completely and used a lot less of it because I don't generally like pouring what amounts to liquid sugar all over my hard work. Those quantities are approximate, as I was just winging it and tasting along the way.

Here's what I used:

Dough
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
5/8 cup bread flour
1/4 cup (1½ ounces) potato flour OR 1/4 cup dried potato flakes
1 heaping tablespoon (1/2 ounce) granular lecithin (optional)
1½ tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
5/8 teaspoon salt
1½ tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla Princess Cake Flavor
1/2 large egg
1/2 cup (4 ounces) milk

Filling
1/4 cup sugar
1½ tablespoons cornstarch unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/16 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup peeled, grated apple
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Glaze
1/2 cup 2+ tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1+ tablespoon heavy cream

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the butter, flavoring, egg, and milk, then mix until a shaggy dough forms. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes; this resting period allows the flour to absorb the liquid fully, making it easier to knead.

Knead the dough for about 10 minutes; it should feel slightly sticky and soft. Add a couple of tablespoons of water if the dough feels firm or dry. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover the bowl, and let the dough rise until it's almost doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Before assembling the bread, toss the grated apples with the sugar mixture and mix well.  Gently deflate the risen dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured or greased work surface. Fold it over once or twice to remove the excess gas. Roll the dough into a 10 x 12-inch rectangle. Spread the filling over the rolled-out dough, leaving a 1/2-inch margin clear of filling along all sides.  Sprinkle with cheese.

Looks like a pizza.  Ha!

Starting with a long side, roll the dough into a log, sealing the edge. Transfer the log to a sheet of parchment paper or a well-greased baking sheet.  Cut the log in half lengthwise. Keeping the filling side up, twist the two halves together, working from the center to each end. Pinch the ends together. Cover the twist lightly and set aside to rise for 1 to 2 hours.

Just before baking.

Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Check the loaves after 20 minutes and tent with aluminum foil if it's browning too quickly around the edges. (I rotated after 12 minutes and baked for a total of 25.)  Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for about 1 hour before glazing and serving.  Mix together all of the glaze ingredients and drizzle it over the loaf once it's cool.


Conclusion:  I'm not sure I'd make this again.  It was good, but fussy to make and not sure it's worth all that trouble.  The apple mixture is too wet for this style of bread and so you can't use much of it, while I think the loaf could have used more filling.  It's not terribly sweet, which is fine because you could serve it with some of the richer breakfast items.  I would have liked a much applier-cheesier filling, something more streusely.  The bread recipe is a good one to remember, though, for when you want a very soft white loaf.  (Maybe for monkey bread!)

Recipe:  Cinnamon Apple Twist Bread via King Arthur Flour

Spiced Pecan Twist

Sunday morning -- start it with this spicy, twisted sweet bread.  It's soft and crispy, sweet and fragrant.  It has a consistency much more like a scone than a bread.  In fact, it's pulled together just like a scone, differing only in the shaping. As a loaf, however, the result is less crispy crust and more fluffy interior.

This is quite sweet, with sugar in the dough, the filling, and the glazes.  Personally, I don't see the point of both an apricot jam glaze AND a lemon glaze,  and I'm not sure either is necessary since the dough receives an egg wash.  I recommend the apricot for a less sweet touch, but in that case it should probably be eaten the same day as the jam is sticky and will soften the crust.  The lemon glaze adds a nice citrusy flavor, but no need to drape it on.   You could also easily reduce the sugar in the dough, if desired.

This was a little tricky to make -- there were no photos and the directions were a bit scant.  She offers that you can make one large loaf or two smaller ones, but then gives directions for only one variation without telling you which that is.  I had halved the recipe, and as it was had the dough rolled out into about a 14" square before I checked the measurements:  25 cm, which is just under 10".  Oops.  And of course, I didn't know if that was for the full recipe or only half.  Considering the small size of the recommended square (which would have left my dough fairly thick), I determined her continued directions must be for the half-size loaf.

I didn't want to gather up the dough and re-roll it to the proper size, so I charged ahead and waited to see how it would work out.  My finished log was only about 2" in diameter, but once sliced and twisted I was able to sort of squish it up a bit to about 10" long.  This gave the dough room to rise, but might have caused the layers to blur a bit more during baking than if the twist had been tighter.  (Another disadvantage to the lemon glaze is that it obscures the pretty layers.)

I used the original recipe as a guideline for the total quantity of spices, but used a 2:2:1:2 mix of cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and Chinese 5-spice (which is somewhat anisey, though mine was old and low in flavor.)  I also used about half whole wheat flour in the dough.

This bread is quite rich with all the butter and sugar, so plan your accompaniments accordingly.  Simple scrambled eggs and dark coffee would go nicely.

For the filling:
42g plain flour
25g dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice
1/8 teaspoon salt
20g butter, soft
1/2 cup pecans, broken pieces
1 egg white

For the dough:
190g plain flour
100g whole wheat flour
30g caster sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
35g butter
1 egg yolk
100ml milk

For the egg wash (optional):
1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water

For the apricot glaze (optional):
1 tablespoon apricot jam

For the lemon icing (optional):
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tablespoon butter, melted
Hot water, added a teaspoon at a time until you get the desired consistency

For the filling, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and spices in a small bowl; blend in the butter. Add the egg white a little at a time.  (If you are not using the egg wash, reserve a small amount of this egg white, about 1/2 teaspoon, to secure your log roll.) Stir well until you have a smooth, creamy paste and set aside.

Sift together the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until you have a soft crumb texture. Whisk the egg yolk and milk together and pour slowly into the dry ingredients, mixing all the time. Your dough should be smooth, light and very soft. Heavily flour your work surface and tip the dough onto it. Sprinkle with a little more flour and very gently knead for a few seconds, pulling the edges of the dough towards you, working in a circular motion until you have a neat ball of soft dough. Roll out your dough to about a 10" square. Spread the filling over the dough with a palette knife, leaving one inch untouched along the far edge. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the filling.

Starting away from the clean edge, roll up the dough into a log. Beat your egg for the egg wash (or use your reserved egg white) and brush the clean edge. Secure the roll closed with the egg wash strip underneath the roll. With a sharp knife, cut through the center of the roll lengthwise, leaving one inch at the top still adjoined. Rotate the halves outward to expose the layers, then wrap them loosely around each other about two times to form a twisted strand. Secure the end by pressing lightly with your fingers.  If using, brush all over with the egg wash. Move to a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes at 375F.

Make the lemon icing by whisking together the confectioner's sugar, melted butter, lemon zest and a little hot water until you have the desired consistency. Leave to one side.

Once the bread has come out of the oven, dollop the apricot jam in a few spots and allow it to soften, then brush thinly over the hot loaf.  Allow to cool on a wire rack. When cooled, drizzle the icing decoratively over the loaf.

Conclusion:  This was somewhat fussy, but worth the effort for a special breakfast or brunch.  Be cautious with the sugar layering -- it can overpower the flavors of the bread without necessarily adding to the whole.  Next time I would probably limit the topping to a light, decorative drizzle and call it good, but all options are provided here.

Original recipe:  Cinnamon and Pecan Twist Bread via Food Network UK

August ABC challenge: Lemon Braided Loaf

Lemon -- not my favorite.  It's not that I dislike lemon, it's just that I can't figure out what to do with it aside from lemonade.  Everything it goes in seems better without or with a different flavor.  I was sorely tempted to use a different fruit, or chocolate, or plain cream cheese -- anything but lemon -- but 1) I have a Meyer lemon tree with an abundance of ripe fruit from which I can make delicious lemon curd, and 2) I had the remains of a jar of very unsatisfactory purchased lemon curd already in the refrigerator, waiting to be used.  So, lemon it was, but that didn't mean I had to leave it at that.  

I wanted some texture and more complex flavors, so I added shredded coconut and a little ginger to the cream filling.  I substituted Greek-style yogurt for the sour cream, as I had it on hand.  Feeling lazy, I opted to use the purchased lemon curd, thinking the poor flavor would be compensated for with the other quality ingredients.  I was wrong.  There's no salvaging cheap lemon curd. 

I didn't realize when I started that the recipe made two loaves.  I cut the recipe in half thinking I was making only a half loaf (always tricky with a false braid.)  Oh well.  More for me!

This dough was extremely soft -- the instructions should insist you form the dough on parchment so you can transfer the whole easily to the baking sheet.  I can't imagine being able to pick up the raw loaf!  Again, due to laziness, I dispensed with any decoration.  I need to come up with something besides sugar or sliced almonds anyway. 

The bread part of this loaf was delicious, and smelled heavenly while baking.  Very buttery!  Some people commented that they lowered the temperature and baked it for less time.  I baked at 350 for about 42 minutes, and I think it still could have used less time.  Lightly golden is probably the right color.  Otherwise, the only disappointment was the lemon.  (And I still haven't finished that jar.)  

Conclusion:  While I loved the bread, I would use a different filling next time, closer to my liking.

Recipe:  Braided Lemon Bread via King Arthur Flour