What to do on a day off? Bake some bread!

On my day off yesterday, I was home all day. We had a few inches of ice underneath a layer of snow, and I didn’t want to go anywhere. Since I’m rarely home all day, I decided to make some bread. I love baking bread and it’s actually not too difficult, it just requires a lot of waiting. Perfect! As I looked through recipes, I wanted to try some of King Arthur Flour’s recipes, because they always get great reviews and turn out very well. However, everything I wanted to make required powdered milk or potato flour, which I didn’t have. I decided to look around online for a cinnamon swirl bread recipe. I have heard of The Pioneer Woman, but have never tried any of her recipes. She had a recipe that sounded good, and as I was reading about the process of making the bread, I loved how simple it seemed. I don’t like recipes that require a lot of unnecessary steps and this one seemed to be very simple.

There are four main steps:

1.        Melt the butter with the milk and add the yeast.

2.       Mix eggs and sugar in stand mixer; add milk mixture and flour. Mix using dough hook for 10 minutes.

3.       Let rest for about 2 hours.

4.       Form the loaf and let rise again for about 2 hours. Bake for 40 minutes.

It’s as easy as that! And so very good! Homemade bread just doesn’t compare to store bought. I love that I know exactly what’s in the bread, and even though this particular bread isn’t the healthiest snack, it doesn’t contain any weird preservatives.

We had a slice last night for dessert, and this morning I decided to make French toast for breakfast. Yum! It tasted like eating a cinnamon roll – so moist and flavorful it didn’t even need syrup.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread, adapted from The Pioneer Woman

1 cup milk
6 Tbl butter
2-1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 whole eggs
1/3 cup sugar
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbl cinnamon
Egg and milk, mixed together, for brushing
Softened butter, for smearing and greasing

Melt butter with milk. Heat until very warm, but don't boil. Allow to cool until still warm to the touch, but not hot. Sprinkle yeast over the top, stir gently, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Combine flour and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix sugar and eggs with the paddle attachment until combined. Pour in milk/butter/yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add half the flour and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the other half and beat until combined.

Switch to the dough hook attachment and beat/knead dough on medium speed for ten minutes. If dough is overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour and beat again for 5 minutes.

Heat a metal or glass mixing bowl so it's warm. Drizzle in a little canola oil, then toss the dough in the oil to coat. Cover bowl in plastic wrap and set it in a warm, hospitable place for at least 2 hours (my house was warm, so mine took only 1-1/2 hours).

Turn dough out onto the work surface. Roll into a neat rectangle no wider than the loaf pan you're going to use, and about 18 to 24 inches long. Smear with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle evenly over the butter-smeared dough. Starting at the far end, roll dough toward you, keeping it tight and contained. Pinch seam to seal.

Smear loaf pan with softened butter. Place dough, seam down, in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours (again, mine took only 1-1/2 hours).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix a little egg with milk, and smear over the top. Bake for 40 minutes on a middle/lower rack in the oven.

Remove from the pan and allow bread to cool. Slice and serve, or make cinnamon toast or French toast with it. Bon appétit!