Raisin Cinnamon Swirl Bread (B&P16)

Baking & Pastry Project #16 - Raisin Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I have an admission to make...I'm not my neighbor's favorite person. Actually, my neighbor isn't fond of any of us. We set her teeth on edge. We're outdoor loving, gardening, barbeque cooking, skate boarding, scootering and ball playing folks. She can't stand it. Believe it or not, she's a school teacher who believes that children should play at the play ground and not in their own yards.

And now, we're going to thrill her even more...with drums. Our son, has been taking drum lessons and is now ready for a full drum set. The set, an older one that belongs to his uncle, is coming around the end of the month. My brother got a real kick introducing our son to the drums, since he knows about our neighbor. Although, he lives in Atlanta and no where near the vocal proximity of our neighbor.

The other morning, while we were discussing what our neighbor was going to say about the noise from the drum set, we noshed on toasted slices of raisin cinnamon swirl bread and cream cheese. Well, we'll wait to see what she says. Maybe now that her kids have gone away to college, and there aren't any more situations involving friend's who need remedial driver's education, skipping school, and standardized tests, she'll be a little more charitable. One can only hope.

Recipe
Yield: 1 loaf

Protein Amounts in parenthesis
Original protein content: 17.55 g
GF protein content: 17.005 g

3 1/8 tsp/15 g brown rice flour (1.35 g)
1 3/8 Tb/20 g sweet rice flour (1.2 g)
1 3/8 Tb/20 g arrowroot starch (0.06g)
1 3/4 Tb/25 g almond meal (5 g)
1 3/8 Tb + dash/24 g millet flour (2.76 g)
1 3/4 Tb/ 25 g white bean flour (5.375 g)
1 1/4 tsp/ 6 g chia seed meal (1.26 g)
2 3/8 tsp/11 g instant dry yeast
3/8 tsp/2 g agar agar powder
1 1/2 Tb/21 g cane sugar
1 tsp/5 g sea salt
3 Tb/42 g raisins
1/3 - 1/2 cup/100-125 ml whole milk, room temperature
1 1/2 Tb/21 g butter, soft
1 1/2 Tb/21 g eggs
5/8 tsp/3 g ground cinnamon

1. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, except the cinnamon. Pour in the butter, eggs and milk then stir together. As you stir, pour in the cinnamon, so that it creates a swirl through the dough. Line a 7 1/2 x 3 3/4 x 2 1/4 inch(19 x 10 x 6 cm) loaf pan with parchment paper. Pour the dough into the loaf pan. Cover and allow to rise for 1 ½ hours.


2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F/191 degrees C and bake for 20 minutes. Prop open the door of the oven and allow the bread to cook for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven, then let the bread cool about 1 ½ hours before cutting.



Notes:

1. White Bean Flour – You can purchase white bean flour from Barry Farm or you can grind your own using a coffee grinder. Make sure to sift your bean flour before using to make sure any bits that weren’t ground are removed

2. Chia Seed Meal – You can purchase chia seeds from Barry Farm and use a coffee grinder to turn them into meal.


Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts

Baking & Pastry Project #15 - Rustic Raisin Bread
Baking & Pastry Project Week 8 - Raisins & More Raisins
Baking & Pastry Project #14 - Cheddar & Onion Mock Rye Batard
Baking & Pastry Project #13 - Prosciutto & Provolone Bread
Baking & Pastry Project Week 7 - Ham & Cheese
Baking & Pastry Project #12 - Belgian Apple Cider Bread
Baking & Pastry Project #11 - Beer & Cheese Bread
Baking & Pastry Project Week 6 - Beer, Cheese & Cider


Want More?

You can find me on Twitter at glutenagogo.

Baking & Pastry Project Week 8 - Raisins & More Raisins

Baking & Pastry Project Week 8 - Raisins & More Raisins

I'm moving a little slowly this week with my kitchen under construction again. It's been quite a process and has taken almost a year. What we're working on now is all the finish carpentry work, trimming out the board and batten paneling and the door and window trim. Next it will be the last of the floor trim and rebuilding the screens for the windows over the kitchen sink.

Part of the day, the kitchen is the property of the carpenter. The counters are covered with tools and pieces of wood. The floor is covered with hoses, cords, an air compressor, power tools and the vacuum cleaner. For the other part of the day, it's mine in a rather limited fashion.

Regardless of the dust, bits of wood and paint lying around, it infinitely satisfying to see the kitchen nearing it's completion. Especially when we remember how it looked before we started working on it. Or what it looked like when we gutted the room down to the subfloor. It is turning into the kitchen/gathering area we wanted, rather than our old squashed galley kitchen.

Mr. Carptenter - Thank you for all your hard work!

Schedule

Monday - Rustic Raisin Bread

Wednesday - Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread

Shopping List

Brown Rice Flour (Fine or Superfine Grind)
Sweet Rice Flour (also called glutinous rice flour)
Arrowroot Starch
Almond Meal
High Protein Flours, such as: Soybean, White Bean, Black Bean
Whole Grain Flour, such as: Buckwheat, Millet, Sorghum, Quinoa, Teff
Instant Dry Yeast
Sea Salt
Binding Agents, such as: Xanthan or Guar Gum, Chia Seed Meal, Agar Agar Powder
Honey

Raisins

Cinnamon

Resources

Flours & Binding Agents: Authentic Foods, Barry Farm, Bob's Red Mill
Instant Dry Yeast: Barry Farm
Agave Syrup: Wild Organics, Native Seeds

Equipment

No specific or unusual equipment is needed this week.

What's Going On?

I was a very lucky woman and received a copy of the Culinary Institute of America's Baking & Pastry book along with their culinary dvd's from my family for my birthday and our anniversary. After watching all the DVDs, I decided to work my way through the CIA's Baking and Pastry book - of course making it gluten free. There were so many skills that I wanted to develop and work on. I hope you will be interested in sharing my journey with me.

Want More?

You can also follow me on Twitter, where I'm glutenagogo.

Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts

Baking & Pastry Project #14 - Cheddar & Onion Mock Rye Batard

Baking & Pastry Project #13 - Prosciutto & Provolone Bread

Baking & Pastry Project Week 7 - Ham & Cheese

Baking & Pastry Project #12 - Belgian Apple Cider Bread
Baking & Pastry Project #11 - Beer & Cheese Bread
Baking & Pastry Project Week 6 - Beer, Cheese & Cider

Chestnut Coffee Cake with Chocolate Filling - Gluten Free

One of the wonderful things about the holidays is that we always have an abundance of good food to share together. From candy to stuffing, vibrant greens to winter fruits, I try to cook ahead so we have a variety of foods to eat without spending a lot of our family time in the kitchen.

My husband and I used to enjoy having coffee cakes for breakfast on weekends. On Saturday's after sleeping late, we get up and share a cup of coffee and some coffee cake while we read the paper. Then we decide what we were going to do for the day. After our son was born, we had to start taking turns on who got to sleep in on Saturday. When our daughter was born, neither one got to sleep in late, instead there was the late morning nap. Now that the kids are older, they have joined my husband in the Saturday morning sleep in, while the Sheltie and I share the early morning together. She to protect her house and yard from any sleepy eyed jogger going by and I to have a cup of hot spiced Rooibos tea and a slice to warm coffee cake.

This recipe is a gluten free adaptation of the French Chocolate Coffee Cake from Better Homes and Garden's Homemade Bread Cook Book. I used to make this recipe in my gluten eating days and I wanted to have a chance to enjoy it again for the holidays. This recipe is also part of the Holiday Blogging Event for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa that is being hosted by the lovely Sally at Aprovechar.

Recipe

Coffee Cake

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup chestnut flour*
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
2 Tb chia seed meal**
2 pkg. dry active yeast
6 Tb cane sugar
5 Tb water
4 Tb vegetable shortening
2 Tb + 1 1/2 tsp gf oat milk***
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 eggs, beaten

Chocolate Filling

6 Tb semi sweet chocolate chips
2 Tb + 1 1/2 tsp gf oat milk**
1 Tb cane sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Topping

1 Tb brown rice flour
1 Tb chestnut flour
2 Tb butter, softened
2 Tb chopped pecans
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Equipment Needed: 7" Angel Food Pan (mine is made by Wilton)

Coffee Cake

1. In a large mixing bowl, dump in the flours and the yeast. Stir together.

2. In a small sauce pan warm the sugar, water, butter oat milk and salt until the temperature is between 110 degrees Fahrenheit and 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir constantly to melt the butter. If the temperature rises above 115 degrees allow it to cool to 115 degrees at the highest before adding it to the bowl with the flour and yeast.

3. Pour the liquid mixture into the bowl with the flour and yeast, then dump in the beaten eggs. Stir until it makes a soft dough. Cover and allow to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled. While the dough is rising make the topping and the chocolate filling.

Chocolate Filling

4. In a small saucepan, dump in the chocolate chips, oat milk, sugar and cinnamon. Stirring constantly, warm the mixture until the chocolate chips melt and then allow to cool. While the chocolate filling is cooling and the bread dough is rising, make the topping.

Topping

5. In a small bowl, dump in the flours, sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Using a spoon or fork cut or press in the butter until it is mixed well with the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Pour in the chopped nuts and stir together. Set aside.

Putting It Together
6. Line a 7 inch angel food pan with parchment paper. Pour half of the bread dough into the angel food pan. Using a spatula or spoon, spread the dough around until it covers the bottom of the pan.

7. Spoon the chocolate filling over the bread dough in the pan. Then pour the rest of the bread dough on top of the chocolate filling. Use a spatula or spoon to spread the bread dough evenly over the top of the pan.

8. Sprinkle the topping over the top of the bread dough. Set in a warm place to rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled.

9. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 40 minutes or until a pick comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from the pan.

What did my family think of the chestnut coffee cake with chocolate filling? My children preferred the chocolate filling, but not the bread. My husband and I though it was delightful, and tasted the best when it was served warm. It reminded us both of the Chocolate Babka's that we used to get from Whole Foods.

* Chestnut Flour: I purchased my chestnut flour from Whole Foods, but you can also find it at Glutenfree.com. It's made by Dowd & Rogers.

** Chia Seed Meal: I purchased my chia seeds from Native Seeds/SEARCH. I ground them in my Braun coffee grinder that I use only to grind spices. Chia seed meal will act as a gluten free binder just like chia seed gel (made with chia seed and water).

*** Oat Milk: I used 1/2 cup of cooked certified gluten free oats, 1 Tb agave syrup and 2 cups of water. Dump the oats into your food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Then add the agave syrup and pulse. Pour in the water and pulse to blend. Be careful not to pulse too long as the water might/will leak out from under the lid of your food processor and onto the counter. Store oat milk in the refrigerator.

Cinnamon Rolls - Gluten & Dairy Free

A Daring Baker's Challenge

The Daring Baker's have graciously allowed me to join their ranks. The idea behind the Daring Baker's is that we all make the same recipe, without any changes in order to challenge ourselves as bakers. There are certain exceptions to not making any changes though and the one that applies to me is needing to make changes in the ingredient list for a medical condition, allergies or intolerances, etc.

Many people who can't eat gluten have other health issues as well, such as allergies, other food intolerances, diabetes, thyroid problems, and more. As for me, I do fall into the category of having other health issues, such as an intolerance to dairy and soy, a mild intolerance to nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers) and a new challenge in reactive hypoglycemia. For my first Daring Baker's challenge, I needed to make a few changes in the recipe, first I used agave syrup in the dough to reduce the sugar content, I used lite coconut milk instead of cow's milk, I used 2 packages of active dry yeast (gluten free), guar gum as a binder and I used a combination of gluten free flours.

This month's recipe challenge was for Cinnamon Rolls or Sticky Buns which comes from Peter Reinhart's book The Bread Baker's Apprentice. It is considered to be a classic on bread baking and was named a cookbook of the year in 2002 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the James Beard Foundation. Peter is a baking instructor for Johnson & Wales University and was a co-founder of Brother Juniper's Bakery in Sonoma, California. He has a new cookbook that came out in August called, Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor.

Cinnamon rolls and sticky buns find their origins in our ancient past beginning with the Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans, continuing into Medieval Europe and present day America. Modern day cousins to these ancient breads can be found in coffee cakes and galettes or with doughnuts and fritters. According to Dr. Ronald Wirtz from the American Institute of Baking, believes that cinnamon rolls owe some of their history to the English Chelsea Bun and German Schnecken.

The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Hebrews and Romans all knew and prized cinnamon which was considered fit for a royal gift. Where cinnamon came from was a mystery to the western medieval world, as it was brought to Egypt by Arab caravans. From there it was purchased by Venetian merchants who held a spice monopoly in Europe. When the trade routes were disrupted by the rise of other powers in the Mediterranean, many Europeans began the search for other ways to obtain spices. By the end of the fifteenth century Portuguese traders found Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and began a monopoly on the production of cinnamon that lasted one hundred years. By 2005, most of the world's cinnamon now comes from Indonesia. In the United States most of the cinnamon you purchase in a grocery store is actually cassia, a cousin of cinnamon.

Cinnamon rolls and cinnamon are part of our shared food history. When you make this recipe, you think of nothing other than their warm spicey goodness that is infinitely satisfying.

Recipe

4 1/2 Tb Agave Syrup
1 Tsp salt
5 1/2 Tb vegetable shortening
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp grated lemon zest of 1 lemon
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup sweet rice flour
1 cup arrowroot starch
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 tsp guar gum
2 packages gluten free active dry yeast
1 1/8 to 1 1/4 lite coconut milk

Cinnamon Filling

1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (6 1/2 Tb granulated sugar plus 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon)

Fondant Glaze

4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon or orange extract
6 Tb to 1/2 cup warm lite coconut milk

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the vegetable shortening, agave syrup and salt. Pour in the beaten egg and the lemon zest. Stir until the mixture is smooth.

2. Slowly add the gluten free flours, guar gum, yeast and coconut milk. Stir until the the dough forms a ball. Then cover and allow it to sit at room temperature for approximately 2 hours.

3. Lay out a large piece of parchment paper on the counter. Pour out the dough into the center of the paper. Place another piece of parchment paper over the top of the dough. Using a rolling pin roll out the dough until it is in a rectangle (about 12 x 14 inches) that is 2/3rds of an inch thick. Don't roll the dough too thin or the rolls will break apart while they are resting and they will be a bit tough and chewy.

4. Slowly peel the top piece of parchment paper off the dough. Then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar recipe over the the rolled dough. Lift a long edge of parchment paper and ease over the edge of the dough until it begins to make a curl. Then slowly continue easing up the parchment paper until you have a long roll. Slowly peel back the parchment paper and using a sharp knife cut the dough with the seam side down into 12 to 16 pieces. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the rolls on the paper so that they are close, but not touching.

5. Allow the cinnamon rolls to rise for about 45 to 60 minutes or until it appears as though they won't rise anymore.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 20 to 30 minutes. Allow the rolls to cool for at least 10 minutes before glazing them so that the fondant doesn't melt off the rolls.

7. Fondant Glaze: Sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl. Add the extract and slowly add 6 Tbs to 1/2 cup of warm lite coconut milk. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the fondant is a thick smooth paste.

8. Using a spoon scoop out the fondant and slowly drizzle it over the cinnamon rolls.

What did my family think of the cinnamon rolls? All of us enjoyed the flavor of the rolls. The flavor of the fondant wasn't a hit with my kids. They would have preferred it to be flavored with vanilla. My husband said the next time I make these rolls, he'd prefer just a little drizzle of fondant. I agreed with him and decided that I'd make much less fondant the next time. In the end, could I eat the cinnamon rolls? I couldn't eat too much of the ones I had put fondant on, there was still too much sugar. However, I could eat a lot more of the ones without the icing.