Orange Cinnamon Swirl Loaf, Sticky Pecan Rolls, Sally Lunn and Challah

Bread Bread Bread Bread Bread Bread Bread Bread Bread Bread Bread~~~ Yum.

 How yeast works in a nutshell. Basically it gets drunk and imparts glorious flavour~

 Compressed Yeast

 A pre-ferment method of bread making is the sponge method. The yeast is combined with some flour and water to pre-ferment for 10-15 mins and once it shows cracking of the flour sprinkled on top, it is ready for use!

 Once the dough is mixed, it is proofed in a proof box till it doubles in size. It is then turned and put back to proof for another 20-30 mins.

 Once it has been pre-shaped and allowed to have a bench rest of about 10-15 mins, it is brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with a good coating of cinnamon sugar.

 Once rolled, sealing each roll well with the heel of the hand, it is placed in the loaf tin and gently pressed down to de-gas the dough

 It is now left to final proof  and then egg washed and baked in the oven till nice and brown outside, and reaches an internal temperature of 185 degrees

 Isn't it a beauty? The smells coming from the ovens yesterday were incredible. Nothing better than the smell of freshly baked bread.

 Remove from the pan immediately and leave to cool to room temperature on a wire rack before cutting into it~ 

 My swirls didn't quite come out the way I intended but it was still very yummy no less. I cannot stop eating this. I'm waiting to make french toast with this once it gets stale. IF it gets stale.

How the swirls should look like~~~

Soooo good. Pecan-Cinnamon Sticky Buns.

 Make the dough, this was made with the same dough as the one used for the Orange Cinnamon Swirl Bread

 Lots of spiced brown sugar rolled into the dough

 The log of goodness was then segmented into 8 equal parts

 They were then placed on top of a mixture of melted brown sugar and honey with pecans on the bottom of an angel food cake pan

 Left to final proof for 20 mins, they were ready for baking!

 Thing of beauty.

 Unmold when still hot, onto a sheet pan with parchment to catch the caramel and leave to cool

So fun to eat. Just pull apart and tuck in. Don't be shy, lick those fingers at the end. I know I did.

Sally Lunn Rolls

 Another sponge dough, these were fun to shape. They need to be rounded off on an unfloured surface to have some surface tension to create the smooth tight exterior

 Sprinkled with a little everything mix on top

 Traditionally though, they are sprinkled with a tiny amount of flour

 Best to egg wash them before the sprinkling of any topping to keep them in place and have a nice golden brown exterior

 So delicious, with the taste and texture of a good potato roll. Should be awesome as a burger bun!

All together now girls~~~ Challaaaahhh~~~

 Here we have a straight mix dough, everything was mixed in the bowl and kneaded and proofed, turned and proofed again. The dough was then divided into 4 portions for a 4 strand braid

 De-gas each portion of dough and roll up, flattening and sealing the end of each roll with the heel of the hand

 Roll each portion of dough into a nice even log, tapered at the ends

 Attach the ends of each strip of dough at one end in preparation for braiding. Now it's lift up strand 3 and move strand 1, over 4 and repeat till done. seal and tuck the end under the loaf

 It should look like this when done! There are also 8-14 braids or so I've heard... Should experiment with those sometime.

 After a good even egg washing and a bake in the oven, we have bread. Or more specifically, we have challah.

Dude.

Tip of the Day!

If you do not have a proof box, try proofing bread in an oven warmed only by the pilot light. 

Oh yes, do not wrap up warm bread in plastic! It needs to let the steam out and cool to room temperature or it will turn soggy on you!

 Best way to store bread for long after baking by the way, is to freeze them.

Go ahead. Bake some bread today.

xoxo