Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Swirls

I tried another bread from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. This time it was a request from my grandma who is recovering from hip-replacement surgery. She's at my parents' home for a few weeks and I've been able to see her quite a bit more often. The kids and I have loved it. So... when she asked me the other day, "Jenny, do you think you could bake me some cinnamon swirl bread? "... I knew the answer would be yes. I thought I had seen a recipe in the book for a raisin cinnamon loaf. How hard could it be to leave out the raisins?
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This recipe is a bit different from the master dough recipe because it includes some sugar as well as a cup of buttermilk. Thankfully I've discovered the powdered buttermilk that keeps for a LONG time in the fridge and always have it available. I followed the recipe for the dough as written, but started to just wing it when it came to the cinnamon part. I was making cinnamon toast for the kids for breakfast, so I just sprinkled some of the same cinnamon-sugar mixture in our shaker on the dough as it was rolled out into a large rectangle, on top of the beaten egg mixture which makes it stick. Note to self: follow the directions next time. They are there for a reason.
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The bread was wonderful tasting and lovely, but it was missing the rich, thick cinnamon layer that is found in this kind of bread. I think that the mixture in my toast shaker is much more sugary than the proportions in the recipe. Yep, peeking at the recipe now I see what happened. Next time, more cinnamon. Also, the thinner you roll the dough out into the rectangle, the more impressive swirl that develops.
I wanted to bring a little loaf to a few neighbors but don't have small loaf pans. I improvised with these Martha Stewart mini-casseroles that my parents gave me when they gave me my favorite soup pot for birthday a while back (pictured in this post.) They baked up beautifully.

And you? Do you prefer your cinnamon swirl bread with or without raisins?

6 comments:

Jennifer Mosher said...

Jenn Betty Crocker Welbaum, I like mine without raisins and I wish you lived closer so we could bake together.

Jennifer Mosher said...

I guess I should have said that I wish "I lived closer" since "I" am the one who moved away...

Julie said...

Yum, without raisins please! But I am still on a chew free diet from jaw surgery!

babysitting buissness said...

Without raisins- I'll be waiting for one at my door! :)

team krasean said...

No raisins for me! It was fun seeing you at Thai cooking class! :)

It is fun peeking into your life on your blog. I have the Artisan Bread book as well, but I've been lazy about it lately. We can compare notes sometime!!

My blog: http://teamkrasean.blogspot.com/

Let's have a playdate soon! -Sonja

ps. Tami and Mo's kids are in the top picture of my blog!!

Stephanie said...

what is up with all these no-raisin folks? Lots o' raisins, please wife, and then we can frost it and put cold ham on it and eat the sandwiches I always ate with *my* grandma at Easter!

I can't wait to see you this summer, but I ask myself--will we get out of the kitchen and do anything else?