Maple Brown Sugar Bread

Took last week off because of Thanksgiving. I figured everyone else could do the baking for the weekend. So in my free time, I decided to attempt my own recipe and see how it might turn out. So here it goes.
Ingredients:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup milk

Steps:

1. Combine the flour and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.
2. Heat the water to 100F and whisk in the yeast, salt, and sugar.
3. Add the water mixture to the flour and cinnamon and then mix on low/medium for about 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Add in the milk as necessary to create a smooth, slightly sticky ball of dough while mixing for another 2 to 3 minutes.
   
5. Continue mixing until dough is only sticky like gum you have been chewing for a really long time - by that I mean, it will stick to your hands a little bit when you pick it up, but it will easily come off.
6. Knead the dough for 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface.
7. Place the dough in a lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with a towel. Let dough rise in the covered bowl for 1 hour. It will rise a little bit, but mine have not doubled in size.
8. Roll out the dough to be as wide as the length of your bread pan and as long as about 1.5 times the length of your bread pan. Then make the maple syrup and brown sugar spread.

• For the maple syrup and brown sugar spread you will need about 1/4 cup maple syrup and 3/4 cup of brown sugar. Mix them together until you get a thick paste. In the two test loaves I have made so far, the spread has "leaked" out of the bread and created a sort of glaze like feature as in the sticky buns which has been great, but I've been hoping to make it more like a swirl on the inside like a loaf of cinnamon bread. So this step might need some playing with in terms of the ratio of maple syrup to brown sugar.

After making the maple syrup and brown sugar mix, spread it all over the rolled out dough leaving a bit of a border so it won't all squeeze out when you roll the dough into a log. Place the rolled up loaf in a lightly oiled bread pan and let rise for another hour.
Bake at 350 F for about 35 minutes or until golden brown. I like to check and rotate the loaf after about 20 minutes or so.
Let me know if you try it and how it works for you! Enjoy!

Monday, November 1st: Bagels

I'll admit, I have been trying out some of these recipes for a few weeks now so the first few posts here will hopefully all go over well. Today, I decided to go with bagels, a batch of Cinnamon Raisin and a batch of Asiago Cheese. At first I was intimidated by the idea of making bagels, but if you can make a simple loaf of bread and boil water, then you can make bagels my friend.
Out of respect for Peter Reinhart (and copyright laws), I obviously won't be posting the details of the recipe, but you should seriously consider picking up Peter's books Artisan Breads Everyday or The Bread Baker's Apprentice, both of which are excellent sources of knowledge and tips for making some amazingly awesome breads. I liked the opening of The Bread Baker's Apprentice a bit more, but Artisan Breads Everyday really gets down to brass tacks and give simple to follow directions and explains some basic skills needed for making artisan quality breads in a way that most anyone can understand.
Another great thing about Artisan Breads Everyday is that most of the recipes use slow fermentation or cold fermentation, so almost all the recipes I have made so far have a been a two day process. For me, this has been great because I get all the mixing a prep done on day one, and then on day two I have the fun of waking up early and proofing the dough and then enjoying the great smells and satisfaction that comes from fresh baked breads and pastries.
So today's post is about bagels and how easy they are. Besides the simple ingredients of flour, salt, and yeast, bagels include either honey or malt syrup. I have been using honey and they have turned out great for me. And the simplicity of hydrating the yeast with the salt and honey and then just adding to the flour makes the whole process a breeze.

Side note: anytime I have ever heard of KitchenAid mixers being brought up in conversation, I never hear people say, "Oh, I like my mixer," or "It's okay." They always say, "I LOVE my KitchenAid mixer, I absolutely LOVE it." Seriously, that exact quote like every time. So I finally broke down and bought one and used it for the first time tonight. And holy crap, I LOVE my KitchenAid mixer.

Back to the bagels. Shaping is easily the best part. Reinhart describes two methods, one method is to poke a hole in each divided piece of dough and the other method is to roll out the divided pieces of dough and then wrap them around your hand. Of the two, I have found that the second method produces a bagel with a smooth crust and perfect shape. After shaping, the bagels go in the fridge for up to two days to enjoy the cold fermentation process.
Come back on Wednesday to see day two of bagel making which is when we get to have some real fun and poach them!