Cinnamon toast falls apart
Hello everyone!
I recently rolled out a piece of my sourdough bread dough and gave it a good brushing of melted butter, a sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon. I then proceded to do a tight roll after which I placed it in a pullman pan. The bread baked beautifully and the taste is great! My only concern is that when I toast it in the morning, I notice that it falls apart right on the curve of the cinnamon lines. It almost seems like the cinnamon acts as an insulator and doesn't meld into the dough. Then when its toasted and buttered, it tends to fall into circular pieces on each bite. I don't see this as a major problem, but it would be nice to enjoy the whole slice rather than one slice in four pieces! Thank you in advance for your kind suggestions.
Rick
Common problem (probably partly because cinnamon inhibits yeast growth). See this thread for a fuller discussion.
Solutions seem to be a) put all the butter on your toast in the morning, rather than some of it in with the cinnamon when baking, and b) get the dough wet with water where the cinnamon seams will be (do you have a spritzer/mister bottle?).
Usually I would say it wasn't rolled tight enough. But you mentioned that you rolled it tight. So my next suggestion would be to use an egg wash instead of melted butter. Just beat 1 large egg and 1 Tablespoon of water together. Then brush this on to hold the cinnamon and sugar. The egg should help to glue it together better. I also mix in a little flour with the cinnamon sugar mixture, so maybe that makes a difference (or maybe not).
Or you can use water like Chuck says. Great, now I want to make some too... Maybe this weekend :P
Edit to add: One more possibility I just thought of is if the bread was not baked long enough, then the center can collapse along the seems of the roll.
I'l give those suggestions a try. Like I said, its not a major problem and the bread turned out great. Oh, I do check my bread with a probe and 198 was the temp when I pulled it out. I do mix enough dough for 7 loaves at a time, so its nice to be able to make one cinnamon loaf or 4 with enough left over for regular sourdough loaves. I love the pullman pans too, they do a wonderful job in making a sandwich loaf or a slice that fits the toaster.
I always brush my dough with water before putting on the cinnamon/sugar, and I never get gaps.