I happen to work at an independent federal agency that was caught up in the recent government shutdown. I received my furlough notice at the tail end of our Christmas vacation in Mexico. So I came back from our trip and had a lot of spare time on my hands. And that could mean only one thing... baking projects. During my 2013 furlough I focused on laminated doughs. During the 2016 Snowzilla storm, I made yeasted doughs. I decided to work on yeasted doughs again and for my first project I tackled a project that's been on my to-bake list for a long time: Maida Heatter's Mile-High Cinnamon Bread. I love cinnamon swirl bread.
This dough is easy to make in the food processor. The recipe doesn't specify which blade to use, but I went ahead and dug out the dough blade -- I had never used it before, so I thought I might as well give it a try. You combine bread flour, sugar, and salt in the processor; add yeast that has been bloomed with a little sugar; pour in a mixture of warm milk and melted butter; and add an egg. I processed the dough until it formed a ball and then kneaded it by hand briefly. I put it in a greased bowl to rise until doubled.
Then I deflated the dough, formed it into a square, and let it rest briefly before rolling it out into a large rectangle. I brushed it with a mixture of vanilla and water and then sprinkled on a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and nutmeg. I folded over the long sides of the rectangle into the center to encase the cinnamon sugar inside, flattened and rolled out the dough again, brushed on more vanilla water followed by more cinnamon sugar, and rolled up the entire thing into a fat roll that I put into a buttered 10-inch by 5-inch loaf pan.
After a second rise in the pan, I cut slits in the top of the loaf before putting it in the oven. There was some tearing on one side of the loaf during baking, but in general, the loaf looked pretty good. I used a vintage Presto bread slicing guide I bought off of ebay to cut even, thin slices. This bread was fantastic. It was soft and the cinnamon swirl was surprisingly intense. I was wondering how the cocoa powder would affect the flavor, but somehow it seemed to make the cinnamon more spicy as opposed to adding a distinct chocolate flavor. I stored the cut loaf in the freezer and enjoyed delicious cinnamon bread toast for weeks afterwards.
Even though my bread didn't have nearly as many swirls as the loaf in the photo accompanying the online version of the recipe, I was thrilled with the way the bread came out. And it doesn't even require that much effort, so I don't need to wait for another extended absence from work to make it again!
Recipe: "Maida Heatter's Mile-High Cinnamon Bread" from food52.
Previous Post: "It's Back, and It's Bigger: Cinnamon Pinwheel Raisin Bread 2.0," February 13, 2010.
This dough is easy to make in the food processor. The recipe doesn't specify which blade to use, but I went ahead and dug out the dough blade -- I had never used it before, so I thought I might as well give it a try. You combine bread flour, sugar, and salt in the processor; add yeast that has been bloomed with a little sugar; pour in a mixture of warm milk and melted butter; and add an egg. I processed the dough until it formed a ball and then kneaded it by hand briefly. I put it in a greased bowl to rise until doubled.
Then I deflated the dough, formed it into a square, and let it rest briefly before rolling it out into a large rectangle. I brushed it with a mixture of vanilla and water and then sprinkled on a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and nutmeg. I folded over the long sides of the rectangle into the center to encase the cinnamon sugar inside, flattened and rolled out the dough again, brushed on more vanilla water followed by more cinnamon sugar, and rolled up the entire thing into a fat roll that I put into a buttered 10-inch by 5-inch loaf pan.
Even though my bread didn't have nearly as many swirls as the loaf in the photo accompanying the online version of the recipe, I was thrilled with the way the bread came out. And it doesn't even require that much effort, so I don't need to wait for another extended absence from work to make it again!
Recipe: "Maida Heatter's Mile-High Cinnamon Bread" from food52.
Previous Post: "It's Back, and It's Bigger: Cinnamon Pinwheel Raisin Bread 2.0," February 13, 2010.
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