Cinnamon bread
I have a customer who has teenage children. She buys a lot of different kinds of bread from me, but she was still buying cinnamon bread from a local chain because her kids love it. She asked it I ever made something like that. I found the ingredients online:
IngredientsWheat Flour, Water, Cinnamon Chips [Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Palm), Cinnamon, Soy Lecithin], Sugar, Yeast, Sunflower Oil, Salt, Dextrose, Sodium Strearoyl Lactylate, Mono-diglycerides, Ascorbic Acid, Protease.,
... and said, "Well, no, I don't make bread with those things in it, but I could make you something to try."
I started with Daniel Leader's recipe for Scali bread (from "Local Breads") which is made with a poolish, AP flour, and a touch of olive oil and sugar for enrichment. I did replace about 10% of the AP flour with white whole wheat flour (her kids will never notice :) ) [CORRECTION: The recipe for the Scali bread was actually from America's Test Kitchen's "Bread Illustrated" book. Sorry to lead anyone astray!]
Once the bulk ferment was finished I stretched the dough into a rectangle (easy to do; this dough is so soft and stretchy), then rubbed a little olive oil on it, sprinkled it with sugar (I used organic cane sugar for this and in the dough) cinnamon, and cinnamon chips (I figured they wouldn't like it without these!) then rolled it up. I then flattened the roll and cut it into three strips. I twisted each one then braided the loaf, tucked the ends under and put it in an oiled bread pan.
This was then baked as usual for a soft sandwich bread (350F for about 40 minutes). I should probably have done an egg wash to make the crust shiny, but it was just a test loaf. Still looked very nice once baked (though a bit lopsided; my braiding skills with soft sticky dough aren't great).
The crumb was really lovely. I cut the loaf in half and took a thin slice, just to make sure it was acceptable to me, before she took it home to the teenagers. Apparently it was a big hit and was quickly devoured, so now I need to make more!
Comments
I like your reaction to those ingredients. Lovely interpretation, much healthier and guaranteed tastier.
I seem to remember my sisters baking rugelech with strawberry jam and cinnamon instead of chocolate. I wonder if it would work babka style.
Oooh, strawberry jam sounds wonderful! Another thing to try <sigh> :)
I did cave and put the cinnamon chips (with all their ingredients) into the bread, but not too many. A bit of a compromise there.
and snockered dried fruits in it along with brown sugar and cinnamon and it is leavened with yeast water ....probably not very good for kids if the alcohol doesn't bun off .......but it disappears faster than greased lightening. The kids had to like this bread that had stuff in it even they could spell and know what it was. Yours will just go stale eventually. The store bought won't ever go stale but might cause cancer or worse....like brain death. Yours has to look nicer with the braiding too. This one is a keeper.
Well done and happy baking..
You did a great job with that loaf. My mouth is watering!
That looks so yummy. I wish I had a slice right now. Glad to see that you're putting that book to good use. marybeth
the bread looks yummy. i can almost smell & taste it from az.
claudia
Your loaf looks perfect!!
LL, you say that you started with Daniel Leader's recipe for Scali bread (from "Local Breads"). I'm looking at a copy of Local Breads, copyright date 2007, and I don't see a Scali bread recipe. Would you mind double-checking the recipe source?
Thanks.
You are right - good catch! It's actually from America's Test Kitchen's "Bread Illustrated". I was flipping back and forth between the two and just assumed that the Italian bread recipe would be from the Leader book. My bad...