Cinnamon Spiral Bread

I will spare you all my despair over not updating my blog, including completely not doing my annual 12 recipes of Christmas.  It seems almost every time I blog, I try to explain why I haven't.  Let's just say I kinda suck at keeping this thing up to date.  That being said, I still enjoy blogging occasionally, so let's jump back in with both feet!

My awesome sister got me this fantastic new cookbook for Christmas this year.  I have checked it out of the library and renewed it too many times to count.  That's how I knew I needed to own it.  Now I do!  Squeeeeee!


So with my King Arthur Whole Grain Baking cookbook in hand, I sat down and made a loooooong list of recipes I wanted to try, including page numbers.  This is what I do for fun, leaf through cookbooks and make lists of all the things I want to make.  And knit.

I came across the Cinnamon Spiral Bread and read the description.  "This dark-brown, spiraled loaf resembles nothing so much as a giant cinnamon bun."  Done!  This is it!  I have to try this!!!! And so I did, and I thought I would share the results with you!

Cinnamon Spiral Bread - after baking before icing

Close-up  - Mmmmmmm!

I will start by saying this recipe has a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps.  It took me most of the day to make it, although most of that time was waiting for it to rise twice.  It is worth the hard work, though, as it is so tasty and delicious!

Cinnamon Spiral Bread

Adapted from : King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

Pre-ferment:

1 cup white whole wheat flour
½ cup cool water
pinch of instant yeast

Dough:

All of the pre-ferment
½ cup milk, heated to lukewarm
3 tablespoons orange juice
3 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into 6-8 pieces
¾ cup white whole wheat flour
⅔ cup old-fashioned rolled oats, ground in food processor
⅔ cup old-fashioned rolled oats, left whole
1 cup all purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
1 ¼ teaspoons cinnamon
2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast

Coating:

¼ cup powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

Topping:

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Make the pre-ferment first. Do this the night before you want to bake the bread. Mix the pre-ferment ingredients in a small (2-3 cup) bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter overnight at room temperature.

To make the dough:
Combine the pre-ferment and all of the dough ingredients in mixer bowl. Mix until combined. Switch mixing paddle to dough hook and knead on speed 2 for about 5 minutes or until dough is soft and smooth. Alternately, knead by hand after mixing.

Place dough in greased bowl. Turn to grease top and cover and let rise until nearly doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Prepare the coating by mixing together the powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Deflate the dough and on lightly floured countertop, roll it into a 40-inch-long snake. The dough should be very soft. Sprinkle the length of the dough with the cinnamon sugar topping, turning to completely coat in the mixture.

Coil the dough in the prepared pan. Scrape any remaining cinnamon-sugar off the counter and sprinkle it over the dough in the pan. Cover it loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap. Allow it to rise until it fills the pan and has close to doubled in size, 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

While the oven is preheating, make the topping. Stir together the sugar, water, vanilla and cinnamon. Drizzle topping evenly over the risen loaf.

Bake for 33-35 minutes, tenting with foil after 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and after 2-3 minutes, turn bread out onto wire rack. Flip over again onto another rack or serving plate to cool completely.

When bread is completely cool, make the icing. Mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and enough milk to make a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle over the cooled bread and let set until firmed slightly. Cut into wedges and serve.

Managed to snap a picture before the kids gobbled most of it up!

 A few notes:  My kitchen was very cold when I made this.  It took my loaf a full two hours for the first rise, and I had to turn my oven to 200ºF to warm the area where the dough was rising.  The recipe originally called for traditional whole wheat flour, but we prefer white whole wheat, so that is what I used.  When making the ground oats, measure the oats whole, then grind.  Do not measure after grinding.  This is delicious heated up slightly.

Getting Healthier

Last year was crazy in so many ways.  The biggest and craziest part of the year was the diagnosis of both of my parents with cancer.  My Dad had prostate cancer, my Mom had liposarcoma.  My Dad had surgery in August and appears to be cancer free!  My Mom's cancer was inoperable and she passed away in September.  I can't say for sure if it was my mom's death or any number of other things that got me started into looking to eat healthier, but I do know it was one of the reasons.

I have struggled to lose weight the last 3-4 years.  I'm not looking to lose a lot, about 10 pounds or so, but have struggled to do so.  I was also tired and definitely had food cravings most days.  I really just wanted to feed myself and my family better. 

So I started looking into things.  I looked at what some of my very healthy friends were feeding to there families.  I looked online at what other people were doing to eat healthy.  I went to Bible study where my friend Katie served delicious banana muffins that had no sugar in them and were completely whole grain!  I did more research online.  I started to think about the obesity epidemic in the USA.  I thought back to the no fat/ low fat craze of the late 80's early 90's. 

I started to think something wasn't adding up.  Here we are, one of the most developed and advanced nations in the world, and huge amounts of our population (including our children) were overweight.  I had long ago switched to butter when the trans fat information came out.  I had long ago switched to whole wheat pasta when the low carb revolution took hold.  But I was still giving my kids 1% milk,  I was still buying what I thought was a better brand of margarine to spread on my rolls and toast, I was still feeding my kids boxed mac and cheese.  Then I started reading labels, looking up what the ingredients on the label really were, finding out how many products have high fructose corn syrup in them (among other things), and questioning why I was feeding this not only to myself, but to my husband and kids as well. 

I started reading, a lot.  Most low or no fat dairy products have additives in them to make them seem thick and creamy like the real, full fat versions.  Pre-shredded cheese has a mold inhibitor and anti-caking agent in it that most block cheeses do not (and you are eating those things).  Most processed foods are that, highly processed.  Eggs are from chickens that are kept inhumanely cooped in cages and fed diets that are not natural to them.  Same with most of our meat supply.  (Cows are ruminants, they are supposed to eat grass - not corn and soybeans.)  I started wanting to know that the meat and dairy products my family consumes comes from humanely treated animals that are also not treated with unneccessary hormones or antibiotics. 

I started to wonder if God had a better plan for us.  He created so many amazing fruits, vegetables, grains and animals for us to be stewards over.  Was I doing my job there?  Was I taking care of not only my body but also the animals and land that we are tasked to care for? 

So I started making some small changes.  I changed the oils and fats we use to now only butter, extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil.  I started cooking and baking with more whole grains.  I started making more and more meals form scratch.  I started buying my eggs from a local farmer who raises her chickens humanely.  I found a local farmer of 100% grass fed beef and started purchasing my beef there.  I started buying grass fed butter, whole milk, and whole milk yogurt.  I try to use honey and maple syrup as my primary sweeteners.  I eat more fruit and veggies. I make a hot breakfast for my family once a week - totally form scratch.

And guess what?  I have lost some weight.  I have very few cravings any more, and when I do they are satisfied more quickly with a small amount of a snack instead of lots and lots of it.

 I have come to the conclusion that all this low fat, no saturated fat is nonsense and not good health.  Eating real foods, healthy natural fats, is far more satisfying to the body and soul.  Do I still have a sweet tooth, yes.  But I satisfy it with naturally sweet things like fruit and yogurt smoothies.  And I don't crave the junk anymore, and I feel better.  I hope to get my kids and husband as excited about this transition as I am, though it has not been easy.

I am planning on sharing some of my new, healthier recipes in the coming weeks.  Not all of them are sugar free, and not all of them are 100% whole grain, but they are good alternatives if you are just starting this journey into the land of healthier eating.  To make it easier for my kids, I have adapted a lot of my regular recipes and subbed in whole wheat flour and healthy oils.  They haven't complained about the muffins with less sugar and whole grains, since they were used to eating the white flour versions of these.  Stop by in the next few weeks, you may find a few new favorite recipes that are healthier for you, too!

Marinated Flank Steak

This recipe is for the best steak marinade, EVER!  Once we had this, I stopped looking for a great marinade for steaks.  This one is it.  So easy and so delicious!!!

I got this recipe from The Weber grill cookbook that came with our first Weber kettle grill we bought after we bought our first house.  That grill was a traditional black kettle grill, we used Kingsford charcoal briquettes (we didn't know there was anything better out there) and lighter fluid to start the grill.  We've since graduated to a gas ignited, hunter green Weber kettle grill and we now use hardwood lump or chunk charcoal.

Every time I make this steak, my husband hugs me and the kids dance around singing, it is that good.

Flank Steak

Flank Steak Marinade

½ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup soy sauce
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon pepper
1½ pound flank steak

Combine marinade ingredients in shallow nonmetal container. Place steak in marinade turning to coat completely. Marinate covered in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove steak from marinade and grill as desired.

Let steak stand for 10 minutes and cut across the grain into thin slices.  Enjoy!

Father's Day Dinner 2012 - Marinated Flank Steak, Taffy Apple Salad, and Red Potatoes

Chocolate

I have a confession to make. I have a new addiction. It's not Bejeweled Blitz or Facebook, (though some in my family may argue otherwise).

I can't stop buying chocolate chips! I currently have eight (8!) unopened bags in my pantry, and that doesn't count the four opened bags I have in there as well. (Or the two bars of bittersweet baking chocolate.)


I can't help it. I love to bake with them, and when the good quality ones go on sale, I stock up. I have nothing against the store brands, in fact I'll purchase them when nothing else is on sale or they are on sale for a great price. But when Nestle's, Hershey's and my all time favorite, Ghirardelli's go on sale, I can't seem to help myself.

In my defense, they are not all semi-sweet. Some are dark chocolate or bittersweet, some are mini's, and one is even white chocolate. And let's face it, this time of year every store puts the name brand chips on sale. And, the manufacturers have all put out coupons, making the savings even greater. So I have lots of chocolate chips at the ready for all kinds of baked goodies. Now the question is, what do I bake first?

Dinner

This is what we ate for dinner tonight. It probably doesn't look all that remarkable to all of you, but to me it was everything.

I've been married for 13 years now, and I do all the cooking. I make lots of different meals, and keep everyone fed pretty well. But the one thing I had never made was a chicken. Now, I've made countless boneless skinless chicken breasts over the years, even adapting multiple recipes calling for whole chickens or chicken thighs or drumsticks or whatever it may be to boneless skinless chicken breasts. But I've never made real, bone-in chicken.

Till now. Tonight I made this chicken and everyone loved it! I did cheat a bit and buy a chicken already cut up into it's pieces. But other than that, I did it all myself. And not only did hubby like it, but all three kids (!) enjoyed it as well. Now that's something!

Here's the recipe, if you're interested:

Garlic Roasted Chicken

3-4 lb chicken, cut up into pieces
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
garlic salt
Italian seasoning
pepper

In a large bowl, toss chicken with lemon juice and olive oil until well coated. Place in a 13 x 9 inch pan and sprinkle with garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Simple, fast, and delicious. You can't beat that!

Happy Independence Day!

What's a holiday without special treats? Last year I made red, white and blue ice cream pops with the kids. This year I stumbled upon a cookie idea and yesterday the kids and I made them.


It is super simple. All you need is sugar cookie dough (we bought a tube at the grocery store), red and blue food coloring, sugar and nesting star cookie cutters. I had each child knead a part of the dough with either blue or red food coloring, and left one part of the dough plain. After kneading the color in, the dough was quite mushy, so I wrapped it in wax paper and froze it for about 20 minutes. when it was firm enough to work with, I rolled it out on a floured cloth and let the kids cut out which colors they wanted. I had to help getting the inside star out, but otherwise they did it themselves. The final touch was a sprinkling of sugar over the top before each cookie went into the oven. (This was definitely my kids favorite part!)


After 8 minutes in the oven we had perfect little cookies to celebrate the 4th of July with. Now I just have to ration them so that they'll last until tomorrow!

Cupcakes and Cousins

Last week my sister, Leanne, came from Ohio with her three kids and our mom for their annual visit. Ever since I moved out here in 2000, she's come every summer with her girls to visit. And it is such a blessing as my kids have gotten to know her kids well, and we get some well deserved sister time.


Leanne has three girls, ranging in age from 12 to 8. I have one boy, almost 9, and two girls, 6 and 4. Amazingly, they all pretty much get along great. Ian and my niece S get along great, or they don't. There's no in between. One year we saw them laughing and playing with each other one minute, and then literally rolling on the ground wrestling the next minute! But they always have fun, and despite being outrageously outnumbered, Ian finds ways to have fun with a bunch of girls. (I think it helps that he has two sisters.)

We had a fun week with two visits to the pool, playing on the "new" backyard playset my husband and father-in-law put together, going to the DuPage Children's Museum, making s'mores with our s'more maker and being treated to dinner out at TGIFriday's by our mom.

Every night the kids got a snack before bed, and being a cool and fun aunt, I wanted some yummy choices. One night it was the s'mores, another night it was ice cream, but on the first night I made special cupcakes for everyone. I always like to make at least one fun treat for their visit and this year was no exception. As I was searching for ideas on the internet I came across directions for making frog cupcakes. As soon as I saw it I knew that was what I was going to make. My niece, S, loves frogs. So it was a no-brainer. They turned out absolutely adorable and everyone was happy to gobble one down.


I guess now I need to start looking for fun snack ideas for next year!

Pancakes

I made pancakes and scrambled eggs for my family for dinner tonight. This is a frequent favorite in my house, I like it because it is easy and no complaints from the diners. As I made the pancakes tonight, I thought how I could run a pancake house. Okay, maybe not run one, but I have all kinds of great ideas for pancakes.

I used to always make the pancakes with Bisquick, until one day I had extra buttermilk leftover from another recipe. I didn't want to waste it, so I looked up how to make real buttermilk pancakes in my old Betty Crocker cookbook. My husband immediately noticed the difference and said he preferred the "real" buttermilk ones. So I now usually buy buttermilk and make "real" ones, though I still have Bisquick on hand for times when I just need an easy dinner and can't get to the store.

For the last couple of years I have made my family's pancakes first, then with the remaining batter I make myself about three pancakes with a little something added in. At first I started simple, a little cinnamon. I discovered it was good. In fact, I no longer wanted plain pancakes, I wanted interesting pancakes. So I continued experimenting. I've added pumpkin and cinnamon, mini chocolate chips (the kids love this one), coconut (not so good), pecans (delicious), and even oatmeal.

But tonight, I added something new. Something delicious and tasty. I added some crumbled almond paste. After one taste I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Honestly, it was that good. If I had had some slivered almonds, I would have thrown those in as well, and I'm sure it would have only made them that much better.

I love experimenting with different ingredients in pancakes. I had some amazing granola pancakes at a little pancake house in my hometown several years ago. I think it was that experience that made me want to try my own ideas at home. Unfortunately for me, neither my husband nor my children are adventurous with their pancakes. I would love to share the experience of new and exciting pancake flavors with someone. But even if I never do, at least I'M enjoying the flavors.