Although I know who Joy the Baker is, I don't follow her blog and I've never tried any of her recipes. Until I saw a post from King Arthur Flour in my Facebook feed advertising a Baking Bootcamp challenge with Joy. I wasn't interested in the challenge or the prizes (I don't even have an Instagram account, which you need to enter), but I was interested in the first bootcamp recipe: Triple Berry Cinnamon Swirl Bread. It looked so unusual and delicious that I couldn't wait to give it a try.
I read through the recipe and it was easier than I had anticipated, especially because I decided to make the dough in my stand mixer instead of kneading it by hand. I put sugar and yeast into a small bowl; added lukewarm milk, egg yolk, and melted butter; and let the mixture rest for 5 minutes until it became foamy. Then I put all-purpose flour and salt into a mixing bowl, poured over the milk mixture, and used my stand mixer outfitted with a dough hook to mix and knead the dough until it was smooth.
After a one-hour rise, the dough had doubled in size, and I rolled it out into a 12-inch by 18-inch rectangle. I spread on a filling of butter, sugar and cinnamon, and then sprinkled on blueberries, raspberries, and sliced strawberries. Then I rolled up the dough, sliced the roll in half, and twisted the two halves (if this is difficult to envision, take a look at the video and photos on Joy the Baker's website). I formed the twist into a ring, pinched it together, and transferred it to a pan.
The recipe calls for a 10-inch cast iron skillet, and we own one. But as I've previously mentioned, cast iron skillets gross me out (I know this feeling is irrational, but I just can't help it). So I used a regular 10-inch cake pan that was buttered and lined with a parchment circle instead. After a quick brush with egg wash, I put the bread in the oven to bake.
It came out beautifully golden, with lots of colorful fruit visible. I thought it looked pretty darn close to Joy's version, so I was happy. I made the bread in the evening and left it on the counter to cool overnight.
The next morning, I took the bread out of the pan and discovered that the bottom of the bread was very soggy. While the fruit did release some juices during baking, I suspect the sogginess could have been avoided if I had done one or more of the following: cooked the bread for a few minutes longer; unmolded the bread and let it cool on a rack instead of in the pan; or used the dang cast iron skillet like I was supposed to.
Even though the bread was soggy, the flavor was great. Lightly sweet, with the warmth of cinnamon and bursts of fresh fruit. But the sogginess did kind of ruin it for me, and I really wished that I had tried a piece warm from the oven. The good news is that the bread is a relatively quick project (at least for a yeasted bread), and so I hope to be able to serve this warm (and hopefully dry!) to brunch guests as some point in the future. I'd love to give this beautiful bread another try.
Recipe: "Triple Berry Cinnamon Swirl Bread" from Joy the Baker.
I read through the recipe and it was easier than I had anticipated, especially because I decided to make the dough in my stand mixer instead of kneading it by hand. I put sugar and yeast into a small bowl; added lukewarm milk, egg yolk, and melted butter; and let the mixture rest for 5 minutes until it became foamy. Then I put all-purpose flour and salt into a mixing bowl, poured over the milk mixture, and used my stand mixer outfitted with a dough hook to mix and knead the dough until it was smooth.
After a one-hour rise, the dough had doubled in size, and I rolled it out into a 12-inch by 18-inch rectangle. I spread on a filling of butter, sugar and cinnamon, and then sprinkled on blueberries, raspberries, and sliced strawberries. Then I rolled up the dough, sliced the roll in half, and twisted the two halves (if this is difficult to envision, take a look at the video and photos on Joy the Baker's website). I formed the twist into a ring, pinched it together, and transferred it to a pan.
The recipe calls for a 10-inch cast iron skillet, and we own one. But as I've previously mentioned, cast iron skillets gross me out (I know this feeling is irrational, but I just can't help it). So I used a regular 10-inch cake pan that was buttered and lined with a parchment circle instead. After a quick brush with egg wash, I put the bread in the oven to bake.
Even though the bread was soggy, the flavor was great. Lightly sweet, with the warmth of cinnamon and bursts of fresh fruit. But the sogginess did kind of ruin it for me, and I really wished that I had tried a piece warm from the oven. The good news is that the bread is a relatively quick project (at least for a yeasted bread), and so I hope to be able to serve this warm (and hopefully dry!) to brunch guests as some point in the future. I'd love to give this beautiful bread another try.
Recipe: "Triple Berry Cinnamon Swirl Bread" from Joy the Baker.
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