cinnamon pull apart bread

good morning everyone! i hope you all enjoyed your weekend and the beautiful weather we were blessed with yesterday... now it's raining again... booo...

anyways... so if any of you are on pinterest, and you frequent the food and drink section, i'm sure you have come across the delectable cinnamon pull apart bread... one of the best i've seen is by the fabulous "joy the baker"... i love, love her blog... check her out if you get a chance...

so... on saturday afternoon while my boys were busy pretending to be superheros, running a muck saving the universe, i set out to make us something delicious for a sunday morning treat... i love sunday mornings... i love sundays... most people dread the arrival of sunday, but for me... it's the most relaxing, most wonderful day of the week... filled with lots of food, games and crafts, maybe a hike or a fun outdoor activity, sometimes doing some kind of home improvement thingy... you know, full on family time...

so, i knew this recipe had a bit of a prep time, so i figured it would be perfect for sunday... and it was... it really was a delicious treat! a warm, comforting, sweet sunday treat!!

for the dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons 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 cinnamon sugar filling:

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

2 ounces unsalted butter, melted

directions:

1. in a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt, set aside

2. whisk together eggs and set aside

3. 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

4. pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula

5. add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter... it’ll look like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together, but keep stirring

6. add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes, don't worry the dough will be sticky

7. place the dough is a large, greased bowl... cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel... then 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 8.while the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling

9. melt 2 ounces of butter, set aside and grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, set that aside

10. deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough, then cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes

11. on a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out... the dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long

12. use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough, then sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture

13. then slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips

14. stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again, giving you six stacks of six squares

15. layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a book, then place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes until doubled in size

16. now to bake... place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees... bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown

17. 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... serve while still warm, and fully enjoy the deliciousness :)

here's the dough after fully doubled, refrigerated, then brought to room temp for about 30 minutes

after it was rolled out, it was smeared with mealted butter, sprinkled generously with cinnamon sugar... the cut into 6 strips (i had a small strip left over... i used that one for a cinnamon roll)

the strips were then stacked...

then sliced again...

 placed in a greased loaf pan to double in size...

now it's doubled in size... time to pop this baby in the oven... i can hardly contain my excitement!  

and here it is 30 minutes later... man, would you look at the delicious masterpiece!!

a delicious close up :)

i hope you have a wonderful day... stay dry... and as always, happy baking!

funky lookin homemade pretzels

hey everyone... it's saturday afternoon here... it's been a  pretty low key day here in the Perkins house... just lots of legos, action figures and some movies...the boys are busy watching the movie "real steel" which is super cute and at the heart of it is a touching story... not to mention it stars hugh jackman, that man candy gives me something to stare at... his muscles are quite drool worthy...

but anyways... i needed something to do... the laundry was done, the bedrooms were all straightened up, and dinner was in the crock pot... and the pages on pinterest were starting to blur... so... i looked through some of the recipes i had pinned... and found a simple pretzel recipe that had recieved rave reviews from the other readers... so... now i had something to do...

for the pretzels

ingredients:

1 cup of

1 pkg. yeast, or 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

3 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, and more for kneading

2 tbsp. of softened unsalted butter

1 tsp. salt

1/3 cup baking soda

3 cups of warm water

directions:

1. warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it reaches about 110, then add the milk into a bowl and add the yeast to the milk to soften and bloom...

2. add the brown sugar and 1 cup of the flour to the milk mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon (or you can use a standing mixer with a dough hook attachment... which is what i did)

3. then add the softened butter, mixing in well... then finally add the rest of the flour... the dough should be smooth and slightly tacky...

4. place the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour)

5. once the dough is doubled, punch down and knead on a floured surface... divide the dough into six equal pieces... roll and stretch each piece into a 30 inch rope... then shape it into a pretzel shape (try your best!!)

6. dissolve the baking soda in the warm water in a shallow dish, and gently dip each pretzel in the soda solution, sprinkle with salt, and then arrange on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown... then cool slightly, and enjoy...

mr. pretzel face :)

i kinda gave up on the classic pretzel shape... well, actually... it kicked my ass... i just couldn't get it to work for me... but i really don't care too much because they are delicious no matter what shape they are in... i'm serious, these pretzels were so good... a salty crust, and a sweet soft doughy center... the boys and i have been snacking on them since they were cool enough to eat...

well.. go and enjoy the rest of your weekend... and as akways...

happy baking everyone...

pumpkin ale beer bread

there's nothing better then making something that's so tasty out of a few simple ingredients... and beer bread is just one of those very things... for most people beer bread is an easy way to bake a loaf of bread without having to deal with a traditional, time consuming yeast dough...

the beer takes away the rising and punching and waiting phases of bread making... which, let's just be honest... is annoying at times... but with just 5 simple ingredients, and about maybe 5 minutes of prep, you'll be on your way to enjoying a nice crusty hunk of bread...

i decided to use some "maine made" pumpkin ale... i first enjoyed this lip smacking beer in a tall chilled glass rimmed with maple syrup and cinnamon sugar... ummm... it was ah-may-zing... sweet and subtly spicy... the perfect fall cocktail... so i figured this would be the perfect brew for some yummy beer bread... and man was i right... pumpkin ale beer bread
ingredients:
3 cups self-rising flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
12 ounces beer... i used pumpkin ale, but you can use any beer you'd like :)
2 tablespoons melted butter
*a sprinkling of cinnamon

directions:
1. preheat the oven to 375
2. butter an 8×4 inch loaf pan and set aside... in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and beer; mix well... the mixture will be tacky, but that's how it should be...pour into the loaf pan and bake for about 55 minutes
3. at the last three minutes of baking, remove from oven, brush the top of the loaf with the melted butter and return to oven for the final three minutes of baking
4. remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack... slice and enjoy :)

i hope you're enjoying this beautiful fall... and as always... happy baking everyone :)

better late then never :)

i know st. paddy's day was like a month ago... but leave it to me to be forgetful... here is a quick post of some delicious cakey, not too crumbly irish soda bread that i made for one of my favorite holidays... and what i liked about this recipe is that the soda bread didn't come out rock hard, it was nice and moist, with a slight buttery flavor... and what was even better it didn't go stale the next day like most soda breads... irish soda bread, makes one loaf

ingredients:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 cup) softened

1 teaspoon caraway seeds, (optional... i opted out!)

1 cup raisins

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. in a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt and stir well to mix

3. add the butter and rub in until the butter disappears into the dry ingredients

4. stir in the caraway seeds if used and the raisins

5. in a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk and egg together and mix into the dough mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula

6. turn the dough out on a floured work surface and fold it over on itself and kneed several times... transfer to well greased loaf pan. Cut a cross in the top of the bread... bake for about 45 minutes check with toothpick that center is cooked

7. cool the soda bread on a rack... slice and serve with butter, jam or just enjoy it's plain old goodness :)

and here are my two little hooligans enjoying some st. patty's day cupiecakes... they certainly are two little goofballs... :)

wishing you a happy baking day :)

daring bakers march madness...

well hello everyone! enjoying your sunday i hope! i know i am... it's been one of those well deserved lazy days... full of just plain ol' lying around watching movies and playing with my two little guys (the toys of choice today were legos, which by-the-way are the most awful thing to step barefoot on... ugh)

anyways, as always at the end of the month it's time to reveal the highly anticipated daring bakers challenge... and this months was an interesting one... a meringue filled coffee cake... say wha?? now... i'm not a huge fan of meringue, the only type i like is in the form or dainty macarons, other then that you can keep you're lemon meringue pie for someone else... but, i'm always up for trying new things, and the pictures posted by our hosts made this delicious dish look absolutely yummy... so i put my meringue hang-ups aside and busted out the ingredients...

the challenge was co-hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast.... Ria and Jamie challenged their fellow daring bakers to bake a yeasted meringue coffee cake... the recipe was actually Jamie's fathers, which was left in his collection of recipes from about 70's... and i have to say, i am SO happy she shared this family recipe... the dough was almost brioche like, with the subtle hints of cinnamon, large melty chunks of chocolate, and a meringue that was almost like a soft nougat... it all went together perfectly...

filled meringue coffee cake

*the recipe makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter ingredients:

for the yeast coffee cake dough:

4 cups flour ¼ cup sugar

¾ teaspoon salt 1 package active dried yeast

¾ cup whole milk

¼ cup water (doesn’t matter what temperature)

½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature

2 large eggs at room temperature

for the meringue:

3 large egg whites at room temperature

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla

½ cup sugar

for the filling:

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (i omitted these)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate

directions:

prepare the dough:

1. in a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast

2. in a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted

3. with an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended, increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes, add the eggs and 1 cup flour and beat for 2 more minutes

4. using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together, then turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed

5. place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides... cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes

prepare your filling:

1. in a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling if using, and measure out chocolate and nuts 2. once the dough has doubled, make the meringue...

3. in a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom... beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque

4. add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form

now to assemble the coffee cakes:

1. line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper

2. punch down the dough and divide in half

3. on a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch rectangle

4. spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch from the edges, then sprinkle half of your filling of choice evenly over the meringue

5. now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. pinch the seam closed to seal

6. very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down, bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal

7. using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch intervals, make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring

8. repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings

9. cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes 10. preheat the oven to 350

11. brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash, then bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown, and the dough should sound hollow when tapped

12. remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table, very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks, cool

13. just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling... these are best eaten fresh, still warm the same day :)

enjoy, and happy baking everyone :)

mallorca sweet bread... mmm... mmm... good

so... mallorca sweet bread... ever hear of it... it seems that most people only know of this delectable sweet from the supreme ruler of the universe, starbucks... and i hate to admit it, that's where i first came in contact with this delicious pastry... but this sweet treat isn't a starbucks creation... this is a traditional puerto rican pastry... a breakfast icon of sorts... eaten either sweet (slathered in butter and powdered sugar) or savory (sliced and stuffed with thick slices of ham, and melted cheese)...

this sweet, fluffy, eggy, almost bricohe like bread came to puerto rico via the spanish island of majorca... look at that, i'm giving you a small history and geography lesson... but enough education... lets get on to the recipe... after doing some looking around, i came across the recipe i wanted to use... from the blog "always order dessert", it's a very tasty blog, go give it a look!

so... here's the goods:
ingredients:
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
3/4 cup white sugar
5 to 6 cups all purpose flour, divided, plus more for dusting
1 cup lukewarm milk
1 cup lukewarm water
6 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean, scraped (optional)
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 teaspoon salt

directions:
1. in the base of your electric mixer, combine the warm milk, warm water, yeast, sugar, and 1 cup of flour and whisk well... leave to rise at room temperature for 45 minutes... the mixture should have risen and appear frothy and bubbly after the rise
2. whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla, and the remaining flour until it is all incorporated... whisk in the salt and 1/2 of the melted butter... cover the bowl with an oiled plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour until doubled
3. liberally dust your surface and your hands with flour to prevent the dough from sticking... empty the dough out onto the surface and sprinkle it all over with flour... use your hands to knead it slightly... it will be soft and will feel almost liquid in the center, but you should be able to handle it by keeping your hands floured
4. divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll each portion out into a snake about 12 inches long...use a pastry brush to coat the dough snake with a generous brush of melted butter, then coil into a little roll and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
5. space the rolls out evenly, only six to a sheet so they have room to rise
6. when you're done rolling them out, brush with a little more butter and let them rise until they have doubled once again... at this time, preheat your oven to 375
7. when the breads are done rising, brush once again with the remaining butter, and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden and puffy
8. cool on a rack and dust liberally with powdered sugar just before serving

don't mind my wrinkly, unpolished and unmanicured fingers here... just look at the fluffy inside... mmm...
these were so good as a breakfast treat along with a big ol' cup of coffee... great way to start the morning

happy baking everyone!