No Knead Cinnamon Raisin Bread

This week in the bread-baking blog, we're continuing our series on making breads using the Kneadlessly Simple method and we're participating in Bread Baking Day #22: Sweet Breads.

The bread we're making is Cinnamon Pinwheel Raisin Bread. It is made with the dough from Country Fair White Bread. The recipe is very easy and it tastes great! In fact, my taste tester said it was the best cinnamon bread he had ever tasted.

This will be our first time submitting an entry for the monthly BBD. We're excited about submitting this particular bread as our entry because not only is it a sweet bread, but it is made using the unique Kneadlessly Simple technique.

 

For more information on Bread Baking Day #22 and to enter your own Sweet Bread click here. View all of the delicious breads in the Bread Baking Day #22 Roundup. They all look wonderful!

7/11/09 Update: My taste tester and I were unable to decide which cinnamon bread we liked better. We tasted the no knead cinnamon bread and the BBA Challenge Cinnamon Bread and it's a tie! Both breads are great!


Let's get started...

If you would like to bake along with us, turn to page 66 in Kneadlessly Simple to locate the recipe and list of ingredients.


Cinnamon Pinwheel Raisin Bread
Makes: 1 large loaf (12 to 15 slices)

First Step: (Make the County Fair White Bread dough p.61)

Get all of the ingredients together. Stir the dry ingredients together in the bowl until well mixed. Stir in the water, scraping down the sides and mixing just until the ingredients are thoroughly blended.





If the mixture is too dry, add additional water, a little bit at a time. Or, if necessary, add a little extra flour until it forms a fairly soft dough. I added a little extra flour. Brush the top with butter.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.




First Rise:

Refrigerate the dough for 3 to 10 hours. I refrigerated it for 10 hours overnight.




Then let the dough rise at cool room temperature (about 70 degrees F.) for 15 to 20 hours. If convenient, stir the dough about halfway through the rise.

Here is the dough after 15 hours

This is the dough after stirring part way through



then letting it sit for another couple of hours




Preparing for the Second Rise:

Stir the butter, milk powder, and beaten egg thoroughly under blended. Vigorously stir the butter mixture into the dough until evenly incorporated and smooth.  It takes awhile to mix it thoroughly.



Gradually mix in 2/3 cup or enough flour to yield a very hard-to-stir dough.

Using a well-oiled rubber spatula, fold the dough in towards the center, working all the way around the bowl. This will help develop the gluten and make it easier to shape the loaf.



Now, we'll take the County Fair White Bread dough and make cinnamon raisin bread out of it.


Vigorously stir in the raisins until the dough is fluffy and the raisins are evenly incorporated.



Set the dough in the refrigerator to rest for 10 minutes. I think it needed to rest a little longer because the dough was a little to soft to roll. It's very humid in Atlanta so that could also be part of the problem.


Spray a 16-inch-long sheet of parchment with cooking spray and generously dust it with flour. Turn the dough out onto the center of the parchment and evenly dust with flour.



With flour-dusted fingertips, shape the dough into a 9 x 14-inch evenly thick rectangle. Dust with more flour as needed.



Brush beaten egg evenly over the dough to within 1/8 inch of the edge.



Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the dough to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Reserve 1/2 tablespoon of the cinnamon-sugar for garnish.




Sprinkle the bits of butter over the sugar.




Shaping the loaf:

Using flour-dusted hands, tightly roll up the dough from a 9-inch-wide side to form a pinwheel log. Lift up the parchment to assist the rolling as you work.




This part was a little bit tricky. The dough was a little too soft and kept sticking to the parchment. I put it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes, but I ended up just plopping the somewhat-rolled loaf in the pan. Next time, I think I'll leave the dough in the refrigerator longer than 10 minutes or put it back in after I sprinkle the butter bits so it has a chance to harden a little bit before rolling it up.



Transfer the loaf, seam-side down, to a well-greased 9 x 5-inch baking pan.  Brush or spray the top with oil. Cover the pan with plastic wrap coated with nonstick spray.




Let the dough stand at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Continue the rise until the dough reaches the plastic. Remove the plastic and continue with the rise until the dough reaches 1/2 inch above the pan rim.



Preparing to Bake:

15 minutes before baking time, place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Evenly brush the top of the dough with egg wash. Wipe away any that pools around the pan edges so that the dough won't stick to the pan when you try to remove it.





Evenly sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture over the top of the loaf.




Baking the bread:

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the loaf is nicely browned. Then cover with foil and continue baking for 25 to 35 minutes longer and test with a skewer inserted in the thickest part until the skewer comes out with just a few particles on the end.  Then bake for 10 to 15 minutes more to make sure the center is completely done.



Cooling the bread:

Cool the loaf in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Turn the loaf onto the rack; cool thoroughly.




Serving and Storing:

Serve warm, or cool, or toasted. The bread slices best when cool if you can wait that long.

This bread is really good!

Be sure to cool completely before storing in plastic or foil. The bread will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It may be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months. I decided to freeze half of the bread since it's such a large loaf. This way, we'll have some for another day.


Happy Baking!
Cathy

Cinnamon Buns: BBA Challenge

For Day 8 of the BBA Challenge, we made Cinnamon Rolls. These cinnamon rolls are so good, they melt in your mouth. I had a house full of teenagers just waiting for the rolls to cool. I had to fight them off to get photos. Not really, they were actually very patient because they knew the reward would be heavenly... and it was.

Peter Reinhart said he developed this formula because his students kept asking him to teach them to make cinnamon buns as good as the ones you get at the mall. The dough falls in the enriched category because the fat content is slightly under 20 percent. However, this dough definitely does not need any extra fat. The shortening, eggs, sugar, and milk, provide plenty of enrichment to tenderize the dough without the additional fat. Who needs it anyway?

This version tastes better than any cinnamon buns I've ever had. My taste testers agreed. In fact, the dough tasted so good it almost didn't make it to the oven (because I kept eating it - not my sons).


Cinnamon Buns (or Sticky Buns)



This post demonstrates the process for shaping and glazing the cinnamon buns. Refer to recipe in the Bread Baker's Apprentice to locate the list of ingredients.

You can also make sticky buns with this formula or thumbprint sweet rolls, filled with jam or jelly or pastry logs. They all sound great! I'll have to try one of these next time.


Shaping Cinnamon Buns

Mist the counter with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour to keep it from sticking to the pin.





Roll the dough into a rectangle.




Don't roll out the dough too thin or the finished will be tough and chewy rather than soft and plump. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the entire surface.



Roll the dough up into a cigar-shaped log, creating a cinnamon-sugar spiral as you roll.



With seam side down, cut the dough into 8 to 12 even pieces each about 1 3/4 inches thick for larger buns; or 12 to 16 pieces each 1 1/4 inch thick for smaller buns.





Proofing Cinnamon Rolls

Line one or more baking sheets with baking parchment. Place the buns about 1/2 inch apart so that they aren't touching but are close to one another.



Let them proof until they are doubled in size.





Glazing Cinnamon Buns

Bake the buns and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.



Streak them with white fondant glaze across the tops while the buns are warm but not too hot.




We tried to wait 20 minutes, but it didn't work. These cinnamon buns didn't even make it to the cooling rack. They were gobbled up right away.





Thanks for joining me this week in the Bread Baking Blog.

Happy Baking!
Cathy

No Knead Cinnamon Sticky Buns

This week in the bread baking blog, we're continuing our comparison of breads made using the Kneadlessly Simple no knead method versus traditional kneaded breads in the Bread Baker's Apprentice.

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this no knead method. See my commentary on the flour ratio for details.

Today, we're making no knead sticky buns using half of the dough from the easy white bread recipe we started a couple of days ago. This recipe is so easy and it tastes wonderful! High in calories but rewarding nonetheless. Just eat them in moderation...at least that's what I keep telling myself!


Let's get baking!

If you would like to bake along with us, turn to page 90 in Kneadlessly Simple to locate the recipe and list of ingredients.


No Knead Cinnamon Sticky Buns
Makes: 12 large buns (or 18 smaller buns)

First Rise:

Refer to the Easy No Knead White Bread recipe.

Here is the half of batch of Easy White Bread dough, ready for the second rise.




Making the sticky bun streusel

Prepare the sticky bun streusel by briefly processing together the brown sugar, 2/3 cup flour, and cinnamon in a food processor or by whisking it together like I did. Add the butter pieces and pulse with the processor or cut them in with a pastry blender as I did until the mixture looks like course crumbs.




Preparing the dough for the second rise:

Vigorously stir 1/2 cup of crumb mixture and raisins and nuts into the dough until fairly evenly distributed. I decided not to add any raisins or nuts.



Evenly coat 12 jumbo-size muffin cups with melted butter. Put 1 teaspoon melted butter, 1 1/2 tablespoons corn syrup, then 1 tablespoon of the crumb mixture in each cup. I don't have jumbo-size muffin cups so I used regular size muffin cups and added less corn syrup, butter and the crumb mixture to each cup.




Cut the dough in half, then divide each half equally among 6 cups. Dust the dough with a little flour to make it easier to handle.







Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture equally over the dough portions.  Press down firmly on each with well-greased fingers to imbed the crumbs.




Drizzle any remaining butter over the tops. I didn't have any remaining butter so I left off this step. Tent the muffin tins with nonstick spray-coated foil.



Second Rise:

For a regular rise, let the dough rest at warm room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours until the dough nears the foil. When the dough nears the foil, remove it and continue the rise until the dough doubles in size or extends about two-thirds of the way up the cup sides.


I don't have a photo of this part but you get the picture, right?



Baking the sticky buns

15 minutes before baking time, place a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Then set the muffin tins on a large rimmed baking sheet to catch any boil-overs of the sauce.

Bake on the lower rack until nicely browned on top, 20 to 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with only a few particles at the bottom.



Remove the buns to a wire rack and run a knife around to loosen the buns - if necessary. I didn't do this and they came out just fine. Place a heat-proof cutting board flat against the muffin tin, then invert the tin and shake to remove the buns; the bottoms will become the tops.





Transfer the buns to a serving plate. Scrape any sauce clinging to the cups out onto the buns (or eat it); serve immediately.

Yummy! Yummy... is all I have to say



Happy Baking!
Cathy

No Knead White Sandwich Loaves

Today, we're making easy no knead white bread loaves. We'll make one loaf of sandwich bread, and use the other piece of dough for no knead cinnamon sticky buns. This recipe is also from Kneadlessly Simple by Nancy Baggett.


Is something wrong with the flour?

I figured out that at least part of the issues I've been having with the no knead breads is the flour ratio. I have kitchen scales, but I've been trying to use tools that most home bakers would have on hand. Therefore, I've been using my measuring cups instead of weighing the flour and then adjusting the flour to water ratio as needed. I've gotten used to the feel of the dough of traditional yeast breads so that has been working well so far.

However, no knead breads are a little bit different since you're not kneading the dough - duh! After the mishap with the ciabatta, I decided to weigh the flour. I know, I know, why didn't I just do that before? Well, all I can say is that old habits are hard to break. Plus, I love bread baking for the art. I know the science is important but I didn't want to get that geeky about it.

Well, I decided it was time to get geeky - actually I guess I already had, I was just in denial. So I weighed the flour and as it turns out, my favorite measuring cup only holds 4 oz of flour. So for recipes that call for 3 cups of flour (ciabatta, for example), the actual weight is 12 oz. However, the weight specified in the recipe is 15 oz - a difference of 3 oz. For this easy white bread recipe, the weight specified in the recipe is 32.5 oz for 6 1/2 cups of flour. However, my 6 1/2 cups of flour only weighs 26 oz. From now on, I will be weighing the flour for these no knead breads.

This is what 32 1/2 oz of flour looks like

Are you ready? Let's get baking!

If you would like to bake along with us, turn to page 29 in Kneadlessly Simple to locate the recipe and list of ingredients.


Easy No Knead White Bread
Makes: 2 loaves (we'll make one loaf and use the rest of the dough for sticky buns)





Mixing the dough:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.  In a measuring cup, whisk the oil into the water. Stir this mixture into the flour scraping down the sides until the mixture is thoroughly blended.




If the mixture is too dry, add additional water, a little bit at a time; however, don't over-moisten it because the dough should be stiff. Or, if it's too soft, add a little extra flour. I didn't have to adjust the flour/ratio at all this time. It's very humid here.

Brush or spray the top of the dough with oil.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 3 to 10 hours.

Then let the dough rise at cool room temperature (about 70 degrees F.) for 15 to 20 hours. If convenient, stir the dough about halfway through the rise.


The timing and temperature seem to be the trickiest part of this no knead method. I like the long fermentation process but you do have to plan a little bit. It's very hot outside and I don't keep my temperature too cool inside (definitely not 70 degrees in the summer). I've been letting the dough rise at about 80 degrees F. I usually start the process at night and let the dough rest in the refrigerator all night. Then it sits on the counter all day. I'll have to try these recipes in cooler weather to see the difference.

I stirred the dough down after 15 hours, then let it rest a few more hours.

Dough after resting an for a few more hours on the counter.

Note: To fit in with my schedule, I made the sticky buns one night and put the rest of the dough back in the refrigerator until the next night.

I transferred the dough to a clean bowl and put it in refrigerator. The next day, a few hours before I was planning to bake the bread, I let the dough rest on the counter to warm up to room temperature before doing the rest of the steps listed below.



Shaping the loaves: (continued from the day before)

Stir the dough very vigorously and add more flour if necessary.




Then, cut the dough in half and place the portions in two well-greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans.

I'm making no knead sticky buns with half of the dough so I'm only making one loaf of bread. I had already separated the dough so didn't need to do that for this step.





Press the dough into the pans using a well-oiled spatula.





Spray the top of the dough with cooking spray.  Make a 1/2-inch deep slash lengthwise down the center of the loaf.  Cover the loaf with plastic wrap sprayed with oil.





Second Rise:

For a regular rise, let the dough rest at warm room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours until the dough nears the plastic.




Then remove the plastic and continue until the dough reaches 1/2 inch above the pan rims.  Dust the loaf evenly with 1 tablespoon of flour.





Baking the bread:

15 minutes before baking time, place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F until the top of the loaf is nicely browned.  Then, reduce the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer, until the tops a well browned and a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with just a few crumbs on the tip. Cover the top of the loaf with aluminum foil to prevent over browning, if necessary.




Bake for 5 to 10 minutes more longer to ensure the centers are baked through. At this point, my bread was done. I didn't need to bake it an additional 5 to 10 minutes.


Cooling the loaves:

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out the loaf or loaves onto racks and cool thoroughly.




Serving and storing:

Cool the loaves thoroughly before slicing or storing.  I placed a tea towel over the loaves and let them cool for about an hour. 




Store in an airtight plastic bag or wrapped in aluminum foil. The bread will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, and may be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months. I don't think this bread will stay around very long so no need to worry about storing.





Thanks for visiting The Bread Experience Bread-Baking Blog. We hope you'll join us next time when we make no knead cinnamon swirl bread.


Happy Baking!
Cathy