Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Makes: one 9x5x3-inch loaf

For the Dough:

• 2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 ounces unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned

In a large mixing bowl (I used just the bowl of my stand mixer) whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Set aside.

Whisk together eggs and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted.  Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract.  Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125 degrees F.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula.  Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter.  The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together.  Keep stirring.  Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes.  The mixture will be sticky.  That’s just right.

Place the dough is a large,  greased bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel.  Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  *The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning.  If you’re using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below.

While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling.  Set aside.  Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned.  Set aside.  Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch  loaf pan.  Set that aside too.

Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes.  On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out.  The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long.  If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay.  Just roll it as large as the dough will go.  Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough.  Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  It might seem like a lot of sugar.  Seriously?  Just go for it.

Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips.  Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again.  You’ll have six stacks of six squares.  Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book.  Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown.  The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw.  A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.   Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto  a clean board.  Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the  upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up.  Serve warm with coffee or tea.

I think this bread is best served the day it’s made, but it can also we wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days.

(via Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread — Joy the Baker)

Royal Scones

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of heavy cream (plus a tablespoon or two more for brushing the scones)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons of sugar (plus little extra for sprinkling the scones)
• 1 tablespoon (roughly) of lemon zest
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 6 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter
• Optional: Good butter for spreading, lemon curd (you can make your own, but I just bought a jar), assorted jams of your choosing, and/or clotted cream.

Here’s what you do:

-Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

-In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the cream, egg, vanilla extract, sugar, and lemon zest.

-In a larger bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

-Now you’ll need to add the butter into the flour mix. You can do this in several ways:

You can cut it up into about ½-inch pieces and blend it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter. This takes a little time and patience, but it’s easy enough.

You can freeze the butter, and then grate it on a box grater. Then you mix the shavings into the flour with a pastry cutter or your hands. This is the method I used today.

You can add ½-inch chunks of cold butter to the flour and blend it all together in a food processor. Just be VERY careful not to over-process it.

No matter what method you use, what you want to end up with is a loose, crumbly blend with little chunks of butter throughout, like this:

-Once you’ve got the butter incorporated into the flour, add the cream/egg mixture in and stir it until it just comes together as a dough.

-Dust a bit of flour over a clean surface and dump the dough out onto it. Knead the dough gently for just a few turns—no more than about 20 seconds. You don’t want to overdo it or the dough will get too tough.

-If you want to get fancy, you can roll the dough out now and use a biscuit cutter to cut out perfect circles, but I can’t be bothered to be that fussy. If you want to go the more casual route, pat the dough into a square, making sure that it’s between ¾-inch and 1-inch thick. Then cut it into triangles, as shown.

-Transfer the triangles to a baking sheet. (You can line it with parchment paper if you want, but you don’t have to.) Use either a pastry brush, or a paper towel, or your fingers to paint the tops of the scones with thin layer of cream. Then lightly sprinkle some sugar over the top of each scone.

-Put them in the center of the oven and bake them for about 12 minutes—though I’d start checking them at 10 minutes to ensure you don’t over cook them. When they’re done they should be a nice shade of golden yellow, like [image at source].

-Let them cool for a few minutes and then eat them right away. Or you can save them in an airtight container for a day. If you have leftovers, freeze them and then you can heat them up individually when you want them.

-Serve these golden, flaky pastries with butter, clotted cream, lemon curd, jam, tea, and any other festive things you can think of.

Phew, that’s it. Now breakfast is all taken care of, so you can sleep soundly and get up right before the wedding starts, plop yourself down on the couch, and turn on the ol’ TV. Be sure to keep one eye on the most exciting royal spectacle of the century, and keep the other eye on how totally scrumptious your scone looks because seriously, you guys, cream and lemon curd.

(via Royal Scones: Eat Them as You Watch | The Hairpin)

simplerecipes:

Herbs De Provence Soda Bread

¼ cups Butter
3-½ cups All-purpose Flour
½ cups Oats (Quick Or Old-fashioned)
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Herbs De Provence, Crushed
¼ teaspoons Dried Rosemary, Crushed
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
¾ teaspoons Fresh Ground Black Pepper, Plus Additional For Topping
1-¾ cup Buttermilk
1 whole Egg White, Beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place butter in a heavy, small saucepan over medium heat, and melt, stirring, until golden brown in color, about 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir flour, oats, sugar, herbs de provence, rosemary, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper in large bowl, until blended. Into the dry mixture, pour buttermilk and melted browned butter. Stir with fork just until flour mix is moistened (do not over mix!). Turn dough out onto a well floured surface and knead gently, about 6-8 turns, until dough just comes together (do not over knead!). Divide dough in half and lightly roll each into a ball and place on an ungreased baking stone a few inches apart. Flatten each gently, into a 6 inch round. Brush tops with beaten egg white and sprinkle lightly with fresh ground black pepper. With a small sharp knife, make an X, cutting 1/2 inch deep into the top of each loaf. Bake 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, until deep golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool breads for 30 minutes on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

via Mary Loves 2 Cook

simplerecipes:

Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread

2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from a 1/4-oz package)
1 teaspoon mild honey or sugar
2/3 cup warm milk (105–115°F), divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 Tbsp for sprinkling
1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 1/3 oz)
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into Tbsp pieces and softened
1 tablespoon water

Stir together yeast, honey, and 1/3 cup warm milk in mixer bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.) Whisk together flour (2 1/2 cups), cheese, and salt, then mix into yeast mixture along with remaining 1/3 cup warm milk at low speed. Increase speed to medium and beat in 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, until a very soft dough forms, about 3 minutes. Beat in butter, 1 Tbsp at a time, until dough is elastic, about 2 minutes. (Dough will be very sticky.) Scrape dough into center of bowl and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp flour. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Punch down dough (do not knead) and turn out onto a floured surface. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each into a ball by cupping your hand and pushing dough against work surface as you roll in a circular motion. Arrange rolls 1 inch apart in a buttered 9- by 2-inch round cake pan and cover with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth). Let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and dough fills pan, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Whisk together remaining egg with water and brush on tops of rolls. (You will have leftover egg wash.) Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Loosen edges of rolls from pan with a sharp knife and invert rolls onto a rack, then reinvert and cool at least 20 minutes.

via cooking after five