I have named
myself Baker at Law due to my two passions- law and baking. Yet, most of the time a better moniker would
be Chef Clumsy. I am so clumsy it is sad
and I probably should be living in a bubble.
As a child, my mom put me in ballet to teach me balance, coordination,
and grace. I cannot imagine how much
more uncoordinated and clumsy I would be without that basic training, though I
am still not a ballerina.
On to my
kitchen clumsiness, of which standing and walking are not usually my
problem. I am just clumsy in the
kitchen, which results in frequent injuries like inadvertent slices of the
finger, doing stupid things like cleaning a freshly sharpen knife with flesh
and taking hot baking sheets out of the oven without a pot holder/oven mitt, or
repeatedly burning the same spot on my right hand on the oven rack, just to
name a few.
Burning
myself while baking has become the norm, unfortunately. Usually, I burn myself sometime in the middle
of baking but before the dishes are done.
Then, I am forced to wash dishes in hot water, with a hot burn, which is
more painful than just the burn itself.
But, having a good baking session is worth the never ending burns and
pain. I sacrifice layers of skin and endure
pain so that I may bake and share treats with those around me. I must be in love or stupid. I will call it a love of baking.
Keeping the
above in mind, it is most disappointing and even more painful when I get a burn
and the baking session was a flop. It is
like going through plastic surgery to come out looking worse than when you went
in. Well maybe not that bad, but the
burn is not worth it when the dessert flops.
This dessert is not a flop, it is far from it… Yes, today’s burn was
worth it.
However, on
Sunday I received a pretty bad burn about the size of a quarter on my right
hand. The cookies I was trying to make
on Sunday flopped. The burn was painful
and blistered more than normal, and the cookies flopped. I was too through. However, today I decided to take on my
nemesis yeast. I received a burn on my
left finger as soon as I put the bread in the oven. This baking session was either going to be
really good or really bad.
The baking
session was an awesome success. I
conquered yeast and made a delicious bread, though washing the dishes was
painful…typical. The bread is soft and
cinnamon-y and sweet. The top provides a
nice crunch and the glaze gives it a little extra sweetness and flavor thanks
to the almond extract. Best of all, my
clumsy behind does not have to pick up a knife to cut the bread; it just pulls
apart…Perfecto!
Cinnamon
Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
Adapted from
Brown Eyed Baker
Ingredients:
Dough
2 3/4 cups
all-purpose flour, divided
1/4 cup
granulated sugar
2 1/3 tsp (1
envelope) “highly” active dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 oz (1/4
cup) unsalted butter
1/3 cup skim
milk
1/4 scant cup
water
2 large eggs,
at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
extract
Filling
1 cup
granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp
allspice
2 oz (1/4
cup) unsalted butter, browned
Method
1. In the
bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, mix together 2 cups
flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
2. In a
separate bowl, whisk together eggs and set aside.
3. In a
microwavable bowl, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Add water and vanilla extract. Let mixture
stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125F.
4. With
mixer on low speed, pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix. Add the eggs and turn mixer up to medium-low speed,
mixing until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. Add the remaining ¾ cup of flour and mix until
dough comes together slightly. The mixture will be sticky. Change over to your dough hook and knead the
dough for about 2 minutes, until it is no longer sticky.
5. 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.
6. While the
dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and allspice for the filling.
Set aside. Brown the butter in a a saucepan until browned. Set aside and allow
to cool, though it should still be melted. Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf
pan. Set that aside too.
7. Deflate
the risen dough. 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. Pour browned butter in the center of
dough and use a pastry brush to spread across all of the dough. Sprinkle with ALL
of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.
8. 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. If the dough squares do not
stretch across the whole pan, places them in askew to cover the width. Do not worry, the spaces will fill in as it
rises. Place plastic wrap and kitchen
towel over the loaf pan loosely and leave in a warm place to rise for 30 to 45
minutes or until almost doubled in size.
9. Preheat
oven to 350F. Place loaf pan on a cookie sheet or line the oven with foil to
catch potential drips. Place loaf in the
oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes (I baked mine for 45-50 minutes, until it
reached an internal temperature of 190F), 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.
10. 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. Invert cake bake to its upright position.
No comments:
Post a Comment