Let’s embark on a little bread making journey. This one involves a beautiful and delicious cinnamon swirl. You can’t go wrong when a bread has the words “cinnamon” and “swirl” in its name. This bread is light and tastes great by the slice, it can be frosted, streusel topped or slathered with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter. If you have leftovers, try making french toast, it is decadent!
My youngest child sometimes feels like he has 3 mothers and 4 dads. His brothers and sisters are generous with their opinions and admonitions. It can get heavy for the baby of the family. On the other hand, he reaps some pretty great rewards from being at the tail end. For instance–getting checked out for lunch, trips to the gym, tickets to see Boston and The Doobie Brothers, awesome hand-me-downs and occasionally breakfast at Kneaders. Kneaders serves up an incredible all-you-can-eat french toast for breakfast. Keven, my youngest, is pretty fond of the endless breakfast meal and Kate, his older sister, is fond of Keven and so he convinces her to take him to breakfast and to pay. He is a charmer….
Whatever your motives might be for baking this bread–do it. This is a dough that has plenty of rising time so plan your errands accordingly or use all the rising time to organize your pantry. You will feel so accomplished!
Start by scalding your milk (warming until their are bubbles around the edges of the milk–do not boil) and once scalded add butter or margarine, sugar, salt and cinnamon. When the milk mixture has cooled enough that you can comfortably poke your finger into the middle, add flour, potato flour and yeast.
Turn your mixer on and mix the ingredients for about 2 minutes–the dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl. We are going to sneak in a mini first rise here. Turn off the mixer and let the dough stand for about 15 minutes. Feel the dough during this time and make sure it isn’t stiff. Remember that you will eventually (after you’ve organized your pantry and done some of your laundry) be rolling this out to a nice long 16 inch rectangle, so the dough needs to be workable. If you feel the dough is a little stiff–toss a couple of tablespoons of warm water on the top during this first rest/rise.
After 15 minutes, turn the mixer back on and mix for 5-6 minutes, test your dough for consistency, and transfer the dough to an oiled bowl. Brush the top of the ball of dough lightly with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise in a warm spot for about 1 1/2 hours. The dough should double in size. I love the color that the dough takes on since we added cinnamon to the dough and not just to the filling. (this photo is before the rise)
Now–you have a few minutes. This is a great time to take care of a couple of things. Separate an egg and whip up the white for brushing on the dough–no butter spread here. Next mix up your cinnamon and sugar filling. Lastly if you are feeling ambitious and don’t want to have to soak your pan when you are all done–cut a piece of parchment to line your loaf pan. After you have gone to all this effort it’s frustrating if the loaf doesn’t release from the pan. No matter how tightly you try to seal your loaf for baking, inevitably some of the sugar mixture escapes and it makes a pretty nice glue. It’s not that I am averse to soaking and washing pans–but I would like my loaf to look like a loaf and not look like monkey bread. Mine pan looks like this:
Okay your dough has risen. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and roll to a 16″X 8″ rectangle. Brush the dough with egg white and sprinkle the filling over the top evenly.
Beginning with the short end, roll the dough tightly towards the other end. Pinch the edges together including the ends. You are trying to keep all the filling inside of the loaf. Place the loaf inside the baking pan, lightly grease the top with oil, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for final rise. This usually takes about an hour. Sometimes if I think it’s being a little slow I set the loaf on my stove top and turn my oven on for a few minutes to generate some heat near the dough. When you feel that the dough has crowned above the rim of the pan place the loaf in a 350° preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes. During the last 15 minutes of baking I like place a tinfoil “tent” over the loaf to keep it from browning too much.
Allow the loaf to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. This is where you will be happy that you have lined the pan with parchment. Once removed, cool for a few more minutes before serving . Way to go! (psst–save some for french toast)
- 1 cup scalded milk, cooled
- 4 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 cups flour
- ¼ cup potato flour
- 2½ teaspoons instant yeast
Cinnamon Filling - 1 egg white beaten (for brushing on the dough)
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- Scald milk and remove from heat.
- Add butter or margarine, sugar, cinnamon and salt.
- Set aside to cool.
- In your stand mixer combine flour, potato flour and yeast.
- When the milk mixture is cool enough to stick your finger in (technical term), add to the flour mixture and mix for 2 minutes or until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
- Turn off the mixer and let the dough rest/rise for 15 minutes. If the dough feels stiff at this point add a tablespoon or two of water to the dough and allow it to just sit with the dough as it completes this first rise. Dough needs to be manageable but not stiff. You are going to need to roll this into a 16 inch length. It shouldn't stick to your hand but it should want to 🙂
- Continue to knead for 5-6 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, bushing the top of the dough with oil as well.
- Cover with plastic wrap and set it aside to rise for 1½ hours until it has doubled in bulk.
- When the dough has doubled transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll the dough into a rectangle that measures about 16" X 8".
- Combine Cinnamon Filling ingredients in a small bowl.
- Brush rolled dough with egg white.
- Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar filling on the dough evenly.
- Starting with the short edge, roll the dough into a loaf.
- Pinch the side seam and the ends closed. This keeps the filling inside.
- Place the rolled dough in to a lightly greased of parchment lined 8½" X 4½" loaf pan and brush the top with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise 1 hour, watching for the dough to crown over the top of the rim of the loaf pan.
- During the last 15 minutes of the rise preheat oven to 350°.
- Bake at 350° for about 40 minutes, tenting the top of the loaf with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent the loaf from browning too much.
- Allow to cool 5 minutes in the pan before removing.
- Remove from pan.
- Cool an additional 5 minutes before attempting to slice.
- Serve warm with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter or hope for leftovers to make french toast. Either way it's a great endeavor!
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