Do you make bread? I mean good 'ol fashion.... yeast & warm water and the muscle in your arms!! I do. I love to make bread. Don't get the chance to do it very much with life these days as it is a process. The bread machine was a great invention for those that like the IDEA of making their own bread, but it's not the same. This is a wonderful bread recipe. Sweet bread. Great toasted in the morning or one of our favorite ways is to make French Toast out of it -- MMMMMmmmm. Next time you have a day at home and you want to have your house smell amazing... give this a try. It's easier than you'd think!
Orange Cinnamon Swirl BreadYield - two 9x5 inch loaves (I always double it!)
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
Pinch of sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup of warm milk (microwave comes in handy again!)
1 cup orange juice (I squeeze it from the zested oranges)
1/2cup sugar
4 tbsp. butter, melted
2 eggs
Grated zest of 2 oranges
6-1/2 to 7-1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
2Tbsp. butter melted for brushing (I just use a knife & *spread* softened butter)
Here it goes....
1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and the pinch of sugar over the warm water. Stir to dissolve and let stand until foamy, about 10 min.
2. In a large bowl, using a whisk, (or electric mixer if you want to include technology) combine the milk, juice, sugar, butter, eggs, zest and 2 cups of flour. Beat until smooth, about 1 min. Add the yeast mixture and 1 cup more flour. Beat 1 min. more. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time to form a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl, switching to a wooden spoon when necessary if mixing by hand.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface & knead until smooth and springy, about 3 minutes (yeah, right... usually takes longer), adding 1 Tbsp. of flour at a time as necessary to prevent sticking. Place in a greased deep container, turn once to coat the top, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temp. until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
4. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and divide into 2 equal portions. Roll or pat each portion into a thick rectangle about 8x12 (I like to roll it thinner for more swirl...) Brush the surface with melted butter (softened butter) and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1" border all around the edges. Roll up jelly-roll style from narrow end to form a fat loaf shape. Pinch all the seams to completely seal. Place each loaf seam-side down in a greased 9x5" loaf pan. Lightly dust with plain ground cinnamon for decoration (I don't... kids don't like it). Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until 1" above the rims of the pans, about 45 min. Twenty min. before baking, preheat the oven to 350.
5. Bake in center of the preheated oven until the bread is golden brown, hollow sounding when tapped and a cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 40-45 min. Remove from the pans to cool completely on racks before slicing.
I'll have something to share with you tomorrow... I just thought Tempting Tuesday was a great day to post a recipe :)
.j.
