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Today's IAmA ("I am a...") on Reddit features Cook's Illustrated editors, with recipes.
- Thread starter erininny
- Start date
Rec: Cinnamon Swirl Bread. Does this help?
Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Ingredients
DOUGH:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 3/4 cups bread flour, plus extra for work surface, (20 2/3 ozs)
3/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder, (2 3/4 ozs)
1/3 cup granulated sugar, (2 1/3 ozs)
1 tablespoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 cups (12 ozs) warm water (110°F), (1 1/2 pints)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups golden raisins, (7 1/2 ozs)
FILLING:
1 cup confectioners' sugar, (4 ozs)
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten with pinch salt
Directions
1. FOR THE DOUGH: Cut butter into 32 pieces and toss with 1 tablespoon flour; set aside to soften while mixing dough. Whisk remaining flour, milk powder, sugar, and yeast together in bowl of stand mixer. Using stand mixer fitted with dough hook, add water and egg and mix on medium-low speed until cohesive mass forms, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl if necessary. Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 20 minutes.
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and place loaf or cake pan on bottom of oven. Remove plastic from mixer bowl, add salt, and mix on medium-low speed until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, 7 to 15 minutes. With mixer running, add butter, few pieces at a time, and continue to knead until butter is fully incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Add raisins and mix until incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer dough to large greased bowl, and using bowl scraper or rubber spatula, fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 90 °F fold again. Turn bowl and fold dough 6 more times (total of 8 folds). Cover tightly with plastic and transfer to middle rack of oven. Pour 3 cups boiling water into loaf pan in oven, close oven door, and allow dough to rise for 45 minutes.
3. Remove bowl from oven and gently press down on center of dough to deflate. Repeat folding step (making total of 8 folds), recover, and return to oven until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
4. FOR THE FILLING: Whisk filling ingredients together until well combined; set aside.
5. Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and divide into 2 pieces. Working with 1 piece of dough, pat into rough 6 x 11-inch rectangle. With short side facing you, fold long sides in like business letter to form 3 x 11-inch rectangle. Roll dough away from you into ball. Dust ball with flour and flatten with rolling pin into 7 x 18-inch rectangle with even 1/4-inch thickness. Using spray bottle, spray dough lightly with water. Sprinkle half of filling mixture evenly over dough, leaving 1/4-inch border on sides and 3/4-inch border on top and bottom; spray filling lightly with water. (Filling should be speckled with water over entire surface.) With short side facing you, roll dough away from you into firm cylinder. Turn loaf seam side up and pinch closed; pinch ends closed. Dust loaf lightly on all sides with flour and let rest for 10 minutes. Repeat with second ball of dough and remaining filling.
6. Working with 1 loaf at a time, use bench scraper to cut loaf in half lengthwise; turn halves so cut sides are facing up. Gently stretch each half into 14-inch length. Line up pieces of dough and pinch 2 ends of strips together. Take piece on left and lay over piece on right. Repeat, keeping cut side up, until pieces of dough are tightly twisted. Pinch ends together. Transfer loaf, cut side up, to prepared loaf pan; push any exposed raisins into seams of braid. Repeat with second loaf. Cover loaves loosely with plastic, return to oven, and allow to rise for 45 minutes. Remove loaves and water pan from oven; heat oven to 350 °F. Allow loaves to rise at room temperature until almost doubled in size, about 45 minutes longer (top of loaves should rise about 1 inch over lip of pan).
7. Brush loaves with egg mixture. Bake until crust is well browned, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 °F, tent loaves with aluminum foil, and continue to bake until internal temperature registers 200 °F, 15 to 25 minutes longer.
8. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pans, return to rack, and cool to room temperature before slicing, about 2 hours.
TO MAKE AHEAD: Baked and cooled loaves can be wrapped in double layer of plastic and stored at room temperature for 2 days. To freeze bread for up to 1 month, wrap it with additional layer of foil.
Makes 2 loaves
Notes
To achieve the proper dough consistency, make sure to weigh your ingredients. The dough will appear very wet and sticky until the final few minutes of kneading; do not be tempted to add supplemental flour.
Why this recipe works:
This American classic frequently disappoints due to either precious little cinnamon flavor, or just as bad, a gloppy, oozing filling reminiscent of sticky buns. The bread itself is often an afterthought of pedestrian white bread, or else it's a cakey, dense affair. We swapped in an airy, cottony Japanese white bread called shokupan and struck a balanced filling with a mixture of cinnamon, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla. To ensure that our filling stayed put and could be tasted with every bite, we traded the traditional swirl shape for a simple yet elegant Russian braid.
Yield: 2 loaves
Source: Cook's Illustrated #115, Mar/Apr 2012
Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Ingredients
DOUGH:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 3/4 cups bread flour, plus extra for work surface, (20 2/3 ozs)
3/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder, (2 3/4 ozs)
1/3 cup granulated sugar, (2 1/3 ozs)
1 tablespoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 cups (12 ozs) warm water (110°F), (1 1/2 pints)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups golden raisins, (7 1/2 ozs)
FILLING:
1 cup confectioners' sugar, (4 ozs)
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten with pinch salt
Directions
1. FOR THE DOUGH: Cut butter into 32 pieces and toss with 1 tablespoon flour; set aside to soften while mixing dough. Whisk remaining flour, milk powder, sugar, and yeast together in bowl of stand mixer. Using stand mixer fitted with dough hook, add water and egg and mix on medium-low speed until cohesive mass forms, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl if necessary. Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 20 minutes.
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and place loaf or cake pan on bottom of oven. Remove plastic from mixer bowl, add salt, and mix on medium-low speed until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, 7 to 15 minutes. With mixer running, add butter, few pieces at a time, and continue to knead until butter is fully incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Add raisins and mix until incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer dough to large greased bowl, and using bowl scraper or rubber spatula, fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 90 °F fold again. Turn bowl and fold dough 6 more times (total of 8 folds). Cover tightly with plastic and transfer to middle rack of oven. Pour 3 cups boiling water into loaf pan in oven, close oven door, and allow dough to rise for 45 minutes.
3. Remove bowl from oven and gently press down on center of dough to deflate. Repeat folding step (making total of 8 folds), recover, and return to oven until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
4. FOR THE FILLING: Whisk filling ingredients together until well combined; set aside.
5. Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and divide into 2 pieces. Working with 1 piece of dough, pat into rough 6 x 11-inch rectangle. With short side facing you, fold long sides in like business letter to form 3 x 11-inch rectangle. Roll dough away from you into ball. Dust ball with flour and flatten with rolling pin into 7 x 18-inch rectangle with even 1/4-inch thickness. Using spray bottle, spray dough lightly with water. Sprinkle half of filling mixture evenly over dough, leaving 1/4-inch border on sides and 3/4-inch border on top and bottom; spray filling lightly with water. (Filling should be speckled with water over entire surface.) With short side facing you, roll dough away from you into firm cylinder. Turn loaf seam side up and pinch closed; pinch ends closed. Dust loaf lightly on all sides with flour and let rest for 10 minutes. Repeat with second ball of dough and remaining filling.
6. Working with 1 loaf at a time, use bench scraper to cut loaf in half lengthwise; turn halves so cut sides are facing up. Gently stretch each half into 14-inch length. Line up pieces of dough and pinch 2 ends of strips together. Take piece on left and lay over piece on right. Repeat, keeping cut side up, until pieces of dough are tightly twisted. Pinch ends together. Transfer loaf, cut side up, to prepared loaf pan; push any exposed raisins into seams of braid. Repeat with second loaf. Cover loaves loosely with plastic, return to oven, and allow to rise for 45 minutes. Remove loaves and water pan from oven; heat oven to 350 °F. Allow loaves to rise at room temperature until almost doubled in size, about 45 minutes longer (top of loaves should rise about 1 inch over lip of pan).
7. Brush loaves with egg mixture. Bake until crust is well browned, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 °F, tent loaves with aluminum foil, and continue to bake until internal temperature registers 200 °F, 15 to 25 minutes longer.
8. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pans, return to rack, and cool to room temperature before slicing, about 2 hours.
TO MAKE AHEAD: Baked and cooled loaves can be wrapped in double layer of plastic and stored at room temperature for 2 days. To freeze bread for up to 1 month, wrap it with additional layer of foil.
Makes 2 loaves
Notes
To achieve the proper dough consistency, make sure to weigh your ingredients. The dough will appear very wet and sticky until the final few minutes of kneading; do not be tempted to add supplemental flour.
Why this recipe works:
This American classic frequently disappoints due to either precious little cinnamon flavor, or just as bad, a gloppy, oozing filling reminiscent of sticky buns. The bread itself is often an afterthought of pedestrian white bread, or else it's a cakey, dense affair. We swapped in an airy, cottony Japanese white bread called shokupan and struck a balanced filling with a mixture of cinnamon, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla. To ensure that our filling stayed put and could be tasted with every bite, we traded the traditional swirl shape for a simple yet elegant Russian braid.
Yield: 2 loaves
Source: Cook's Illustrated #115, Mar/Apr 2012
The Pumpkin-Praline Pie looked good too. Rec inside
Pumpkin-Praline Pie
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
The idea of combining two of our favorite holiday desserts—pumpkin pie and pecan pie—into one holiday recipe was pretty appealing. To make it a reality, we sweetened our filling with evaporated milk and dark brown sugar. We got rid of any stringiness by whirling the filling in a food processor, and cooking it on the stovetop evaporated any excess moisture that threatened to make our Pumpkin-Praline Pie recipe runny.
SERVES 8 TO 10
Use your favorite pie dough recipe or, for a convenient option, use one sheet of Pillsbury Just Unroll! Pie Crusts, available in the refrigerator biscuit section of your supermarket.
INGREDIENTS
1 (9-inch) pie shell, chilled in pie plate for 30 minutes
Pumpkin Filling
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
pinch ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup evaporated milk
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Praline Topping
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons dark corn syrup
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
pinch salt
INSTRUCTIONS
1. For the pie shell: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line pie shell with foil, cover with 2 cups pie weights (pennies or dried beans are fine, too), and bake until dough under foil dries out, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove foil and weights, poke crust several times with fork, and continue to bake until firmly set and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove pie shell from oven (keep oven on) and set aside. (Shell can be cooled, wrapped tightly in plastic, and stored at room temperature for 1 day.)
2. For the filling: Puree pumpkin, brown sugar, spices, and salt in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Cook mixture in large saucepan over medium-high heat until sputtering and thickened, about 4 minutes, and remove from heat. Meanwhile, put pie shell back in oven to warm.
3. Whisk evaporated milk into pumpkin mixture, then whisk in eggs and vanilla. Pour filling into warmed pie shell and bake until filling is puffed and cracked around edges and center barely jiggles when pie is shaken, about 35 minutes.
4. For the topping: While pie is baking, toss pecans, brown sugar, and salt in bowl. Add corn syrup and vanilla, using fingers to ensure that ingredients are well blended.
5. Scatter topping evenly over puffed filling and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake until pecans are fragrant and topping is bubbling around edges, about 10 minutes. Cool pie completely on wire rack, at least 2 hours. (Pie can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.) Serve pie at room temperature.
PERFECT PUMPKIN-PRALINE PIE
1. Puree the pumpkin (with the brown sugar and spices) to break up any fibers.
2. Cook the pumpkin mixture to get rid of excess moisture.
3. Pour the hot filling into a hot pie crust to minimize baking time and promote even cooking.
4. Wait for the filling to crack on top. Usually the sign of a problem, in our recipe the cracking is the cue that tells you exactly when to add the praline topping.
Pumpkin-Praline Pie
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
The idea of combining two of our favorite holiday desserts—pumpkin pie and pecan pie—into one holiday recipe was pretty appealing. To make it a reality, we sweetened our filling with evaporated milk and dark brown sugar. We got rid of any stringiness by whirling the filling in a food processor, and cooking it on the stovetop evaporated any excess moisture that threatened to make our Pumpkin-Praline Pie recipe runny.
SERVES 8 TO 10
Use your favorite pie dough recipe or, for a convenient option, use one sheet of Pillsbury Just Unroll! Pie Crusts, available in the refrigerator biscuit section of your supermarket.
INGREDIENTS
1 (9-inch) pie shell, chilled in pie plate for 30 minutes
Pumpkin Filling
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
pinch ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup evaporated milk
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Praline Topping
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons dark corn syrup
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
pinch salt
INSTRUCTIONS
1. For the pie shell: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line pie shell with foil, cover with 2 cups pie weights (pennies or dried beans are fine, too), and bake until dough under foil dries out, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove foil and weights, poke crust several times with fork, and continue to bake until firmly set and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove pie shell from oven (keep oven on) and set aside. (Shell can be cooled, wrapped tightly in plastic, and stored at room temperature for 1 day.)
2. For the filling: Puree pumpkin, brown sugar, spices, and salt in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Cook mixture in large saucepan over medium-high heat until sputtering and thickened, about 4 minutes, and remove from heat. Meanwhile, put pie shell back in oven to warm.
3. Whisk evaporated milk into pumpkin mixture, then whisk in eggs and vanilla. Pour filling into warmed pie shell and bake until filling is puffed and cracked around edges and center barely jiggles when pie is shaken, about 35 minutes.
4. For the topping: While pie is baking, toss pecans, brown sugar, and salt in bowl. Add corn syrup and vanilla, using fingers to ensure that ingredients are well blended.
5. Scatter topping evenly over puffed filling and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake until pecans are fragrant and topping is bubbling around edges, about 10 minutes. Cool pie completely on wire rack, at least 2 hours. (Pie can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.) Serve pie at room temperature.
PERFECT PUMPKIN-PRALINE PIE
1. Puree the pumpkin (with the brown sugar and spices) to break up any fibers.
2. Cook the pumpkin mixture to get rid of excess moisture.
3. Pour the hot filling into a hot pie crust to minimize baking time and promote even cooking.
4. Wait for the filling to crack on top. Usually the sign of a problem, in our recipe the cracking is the cue that tells you exactly when to add the praline topping.
lana-in-fl
Well-known member
Thanks, Erin, I missed this.
They didn't answer many questions, did they? But I'm glad they mentioned the pressure cooker. I've just been told I'm getting a small stipend, so I think I will spend it on the Fagor Duo. I've been meaning to buy a pressure cooker for years, as I miss my old one very much. Though I don't know where I will store it.
They didn't answer many questions, did they? But I'm glad they mentioned the pressure cooker. I've just been told I'm getting a small stipend, so I think I will spend it on the Fagor Duo. I've been meaning to buy a pressure cooker for years, as I miss my old one very much. Though I don't know where I will store it.