Sunday, December 7, 2014

No-Knead Cinnamon Raisin Buttermilk Bread


Yield = Three small loaves or Two large loaves
Recipe from The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois (Thomas Dunne Books, 2013)
Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Making this bread is a cinch.  The best part is that it is no-knead.  Have the kids help you make the dough.  It’s that easy!  The dough can be made a week in advance and kept in the fridge until you are ready to shape and bake.  You can also bake the bread and freeze it whole or in slices.  Toasted with a bit of butter and served with hot tea or coffee will take a ho-hum breakfast to the next level. (Check out the No-Knead website)

Special Equipment:  6-8 quart plastic container with a lid*** (If the container is airtight, drill three holes in the lid.); pastry brush; plastic wrap; oil spray; cooling rack; loaf pans

2 cups lukewarm water
 (about 100° F)
1 cup buttermilk

1½ Tablespoons yeast

1½ Tablespoons kosher salt

1½ Tablespoons sugar

6½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

Unsalted butter for greasing the pan or cooking spray

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar

¾ cup raisins (if you are using them)

Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon water)

1. Mixing and storing the dough: Mix the yeast, salt and sugar with the water and buttermilk in a large plastic container. (See note above about the plastic container.)
2. Add the flour.  Mix with really wet hands to make sure that all the flour is wet.  Do not knead.  You’re finished when everything is uniformly moist, without dry patches.  (The dough will yield a dough that is wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of its container.)
3. Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses or flattens on top, approximately 2 hours.
4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is much easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 7 days.
5. On baking day, lightly grease a 9x4x3-inch nonstick loaf pan. Set aside. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1½-pound (cantaloupe-size) piece. (Note: the original recipe yields 3 loaves. You can also divide the total amount of dough in half and making two larger loaves as opposed to three smallish loaves.) Dust with more flour and quickly shape into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
6. With a rolling pin roll out the dough to an 18×16-inch rectangle (or about an 11×18-inch rectangle — just wider than the loaf pan) about ¼-inch thick, dusting the board and rolling pin with flour as needed. You may need to use a metal dough scraper to loosen rolled dough from the board as you are working with it.
7. Using a pastry brush, cover the surface of the dough lightly with egg wash. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dough. Distribute the raisins, if using.
8. Starting from the short side, roll it up jelly-roll style. Pinch the edges and ends together, tucking the ends under. Place the loaf seam-side down in the prepared pan. Allow to rest 1 hour and 40 minutes (or just 40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough.)

9. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 375ºF. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from pan and allow to cool before slicing.

***I use a plastic Rubbermaid container with a lid.  My hubby drilled four holes in the plastic lid.  

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