Recipes for breads like this one have been popping up all over food blogs in the last few weeks. I've looked at the pictures and drooled, but been unable to justify such a decedent dessert. Finally, this past weekend, I decided to attempt my own not-quite-so-awful-for-you version. My parents were in town with my uncle, and they wanted to stop by to show him my new apartment. I figured it was a great opportunity to try this out - I knew it'd make the apartment smell fantastic and, seeing as they're family, they'd eat it even if it didn't turn out exactly as I'd like. From the original recipe, I cut the amount of butter and sugar in half and replaced the whole milk with skim (though soy or lactaid would work too). I have to tell you, I don't think anybody would know the difference. This bread is amazing. Filled with warm and gooey cinnamon sugar, it reminds me of those cinnabons I used to get as a kid. The recipe takes time and a bit of work, but I don't think I have to tell you that it's one hundred percent worth it. I certainly didn't have to do any convincing with my family. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
For the dough:
2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 envelope dry active yeast
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup milk
¼ cup water
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
For the filling:
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp butter
Directions:
Stir together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt
Melt butter in microwave, then stir in milk, water and vanilla
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix
Add 2 eggs (already whisked) – will take a while to incorporate into batter, but keep stirring!
Add remaining ¾ cup flour and stir for about 2 minutes
Put dough in large, greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit till doubled in size (~1 hr)
*At this point, dough can be refrigerated to be used in the morning
(just remove from fridge and let sit for 30 minutes before using)
Combine sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg
Roll out dough with rolling pin (roughly 12 x 20 inches)
Smear with butter and sprinkle the sugar mixture on top
Slice vertically into 6 strips
Stack strips on top of each other, then slice vertically again into 4 or 5 pieces
(should come out to be more or less equally sized squares, each of which has six layers of dough)
(should come out to be more or less equally sized squares, each of which has six layers of dough)
Layer stacks in loaf pan and let sit till doubled in size (~30 minutes)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown (don’t want center to be raw)
Remove, and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Serve hot.
Will keep for up to 2 days (cover with plastic wrap and keep at room temp)
Hi! I can tell this is going to be delicious - waiting to put it in the oven now! I was confused about how cutting the strips vertically the second time would give me squares, so cut them horizontally to get squares, then unsure how you had stacked them in the pan - on their sides? - to get it to look like the picture. Picture looks like long strips folded back on themselves? Either way the form will not affect the taste! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI agree. The instructions for cutting and arranging the pieces of dough are very unclear. At least it won't affect how it tastes, like you said. Too bad I just made cinnamon rolls today; I'll have to try something like this next time.
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