Sweet Smells of Cinnamon Bread

Ever since I started venturing into Bread Making, I find myself enjoying every minute of it. Although I didn't get a bread maker, kneading it by hand gives me a wonderful experience understanding the feel of the dough and if it is ready to set it aside for proofing. If your kneading is right, the proofing will be successful.

Therefore, I would suggest that those who really want to try Bread making should start out manually first. It is the ultimate invaluable experience. Although one can put the items in the breadmaker machine, you will never be able to feel the texture at all as well as from grainy, to wet and satin smooth.

Few days ago, I decide to make a small mini loaf and filled the insides with Cinnamon. I was really delighted with the result. The whiff of fresh bread smells from the oven and the nice Cinnamon spice filled the air. It was heavenly. The result was equally wonderful. I had left the bread to proof a little while longer than usual because I had to go out to fetch my girl from school and it actually rose quite a bit.

It was really so soft, really cottony soft and slightly sweet and filled with lovely Cinnamon Spiced Sugar. The kids finished it all off (1 and half loaves) except for the other half I secretly saved for my girl for the following day's breakfast!


The Recipe
200g bread flour
30g sugar
1/4 tsp salt
5g instant yeast

100g whipping cream
40g fresh milk
1 egg yolk

20g soft butter


Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 tbsp Brown Sugar

Extra butter sliced in thickness of 3mm (optional)


Method
Sieve flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix whipping cream, milk and yolk. Make a small well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the cream solution. With a whisk, mix it up until it becomes a dough. You may like to use hand before mixing but I start with a whisk then once the items are fully incorporated, I use my hands. This is to prevent the flour and liquid mixture from sticking on my fingers and hands too quickly. Once it becomes a lumpy grainy dough, you can start using your hands to knead it. As it is fairly dry because butter is not yet added, it will not stick to your hands. Knead it until the dough is smooth and not grainy nor rough. It should feel smooth in your hands. This can take about 15 minutes or longer, depending how you knead it.

Remember, kneading is not throwing it. My helper once wanted to make this and thinks that you just need to throw the dough (like one does in ceramics) and the dough did not even start to proof! It was the same size after an hour of proofing!

After about 15 minutes or longer, when the dough is satin smooth, add in the butter, making sure you knead it well to let the butter incorporate FULLY into the dough. This time, it may feel a little wet, and may stick to your hands. That means you will have to knead until it is non sticky. Kneading this time should take about 30 mins the least. When you stretch a little of the dough, it should not tear off easily and it feels like stretching a thin layer and looks translucent against the light. If it tears off and looks jaggery, it means you have not kneaded enough.

Once the texture is reached, form it into a ball, leave it in a large stainless steel bowl that has been well oiled and cover with cling film. No droughts. Put it in a warm place and proof for about an hour or a little more. It should double or triple in size.

Remove the dough, punch down to deflate gas inside. Divide it into 2 balls. Let it rest for a further 15 minutes in the bowl, covered. Roll each dough out into a rectangle piece, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar in the center part. Place extra butter slices about 2cm apart in a row.

Roll it up like a swiss roll and fold down the two ends below. Let it sit in your loaf pan and cover with cling wrap. Rest it for another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat your oven to 180 deg C. Bake it for about 20 minutes.