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Holiday Swirl Loaf

Posted by beccaosuna on

Yesterday was Halloween so it is now officially the holiday season. I adapted this recipe from King Arthur’s Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Loaf to make it a little more holiday and also to take out the time consuming sourdough-ness. I love my sourdough but I sometimes feel my starter holds me hostage and prevents me from exploring all the non sourdough breads out there so I’m currently actively neglecting it. This bread is great for holiday breakfasts or a grilled brie sandwich (maybe with some cranberry sauce). Or just stress snacking through the holidays, whatever floats your boat.

If you’re extra stressed you can soak the craisins in bourbon overnight before making this bread.

Note on Tea

Any spiced tea will work well in this; chai, cinnamon orange, bengal spice, rooibos. Brew the tea in a pyrex measuring cup and let it cool while you gather the rest of the ingredients. You can make it pretty strong since the flavor will be muted by all the breadiness. Of course make yourself a cup too so you can really channel the Great British Bake Off while you make your bread. You can also put your butter in a small bowl next to the cup of tea and cover them both with a dishtowel to accelerate the softening.

Note on Cinnamon

If you can get it, I recommend using Mexican cinnamon instead of standard American. It’s not as astringent and has a pure cinnamon flavor.

Holiday Swirl Loaf Recipe

Ingredients

Dough

  • 3 cups (360 g) AP flour
  • ¾ cup (80 g) of rye flour
  • 2 teaspoons instant or active yeast
  • 1 tablespoon (13 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg room temp
  • 5 tablespoons (71 g) butter, softened
  • 1 cup (227 g)  lukewarm spice tea

Filling

  • ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon 
  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
  • Zest from one orange or 2 lemons
  • 2 teaspoons AP flour
  • 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
  • ½ cup (74 g) craisins, cut in half if they are whole

Instructions

  1. Brew a cup of spice tea of your choice
  2. Combine 75 grams all purpose flour, 75 grams tea and one teaspoon instant yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. Let sit for at least an hour, up to 4, until visible bubbles are forming. 
  3. Add remaining 285 g AP flour, 152 g tea, 1 teaspoon yeast and all other bread ingredients. Mix with a bread hook until bread is fully combined and has cleaned the bowl. If it seems dry let it rest for 15 minutes to fully hydrate and mix again. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft and smooth, about five minutes. You can also knead in mixer in which case I recommend adding a touch of extra flour since normally bread picks up additional flour in the counter kneading process.
  4. Place the dough in a lightly greased container, cover with plastic or a wet tea towel and allow it to rise in a warm (not hot) area for 1 ½-2 hours, until it’s just about doubled in bulk. 
  5. While the dough is rising, make the filling by mixing together sugar, cinnamon, allspice, zest and flour.
  6. Gently deflate the dough and transfer it to a lightly greased or floured work surface.
  7. Roll and pat the dough into a rough rectangle 6”x20”
  8. Brush the entire dough with egg wash and sprinkle evenly with the filling and the craisins, leaving an inch of dough bare at one of the short edges for sealing.
  9. Starting with a short edge covered in filling, roll the dough into a log. Pinch the ends of the roll to seal and pinch the long seam closed. Make sure there are no craisins poking out, they will get rock hard if exposed. 
  10. Transfer the log, seam down, to a lightly greased 9”x5” loaf pan. Cover and allow the bread to rise until it has crested about 1” over the rim of the pan, around 1 hour. Toward the end of this second rise preheat the oven to 350.
  11. Place a ramekin filled with boiled water in the oven (put the ramekin in the oven before you pour the hot water in so you aren’t carrying an open container of 212 degree water to the oven). Bake for 60 minutes on the bottom shelf.
  12. Remove from oven and if you want a softer crust you can brush the bread with melted butter after turning it out from the pan.

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