Vanilla Beans!

These came in the mail on the same day I had decided to try my hand at cinnamon raisin bread. So I used the seeds out of one in the bread.. just because. Fresh vanilla makes a huge change! I had already made the switch a while ago to using powdered vanilla instead of extract and that is an improvement as well. It's a little easier to use the powdered in place of extract than it is to use whole beans since they spoil quickly if they are fresh and moist like these ones. I'll be keeping just a couple out and then vac-packing and freezing the rest.

Raisin Cinnamon Loaf

Here's the recipe I used, including the adjustments made. 

 

6 Tablespoons Butter

2-1/2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast

2 whole Eggs

1/3 cup Sugar

3-1/2 cups All-purpose Flour

1-1/4 teaspoon Salt

Vanilla seeds from one bean

For the cinnamon swirls

1/3 C. sugar

3 Tbsp. Cinnamon

For the bread glaze

a bit of egg and milk

Melt butter with milk.

Heat until warm, but don't allow it to boil.

Let it cool until it is just warm to the touch.

Sprinkle the yeast over your milk and butter mixture and stir gently, then let it sit for about 15 minutes.

While that is sitting, combine your flour and salt.

Use a stand mixer or hand mixer and mix sugar, vanilla seeds, and eggs with the paddle attachment until combined.

Pour in your wet mixture and give it a couple seconds on the lowest setting to combine.

Add half the flour and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the other half and beat until combined.

Use your dough hook attachment (or do this by hand) and knead the dough on medium speed for about ten minutes. If your dough seems too sticky, add a bit more flour at a time until it seems to be a proper texture. Your finger shouldn't really stick to it when it's right.

Here's the tough part. You need a warm but not hot environment for your bread to rise. What I do is barely warm the oven, put in a glass bowl until it is just warm, not hot!  Then smear some butter in the bottom of the bowl and roll the dough until the butter coats it. Cover the bowl with a towel and then set it in a warm place (the oven in my case), for around 2 hours.

Once it's risen, punch down your dough and roll it into a rectangle about the width of your loaf pan and as long as you can get it. Thinner bread means more cinnamon swirl. Smear one side with some of the melted butter.

Mix your sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle it over the butter-smeared dough.

Roll it up and pinch the seam to seal. Phew! The hard part is over.

Grease your loaf pan with butter. Seriously, use butter. For bread, it's way better than nonstick spray. Put your dough in the pan, seam side down and cover with plastic wrap. Give it about another two hours to rise again.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together some egg and milk and use a pastry brush to brush it over the top. That gives it a nice brown color. Bake it for 40-50 minutes (could be a bit more or less depending on your oven and pans). I can't tell if bread is done by looking at it, I always pull it early so I've started using a meat thermometer. Once it reaches about 200F in the center, it's done.

Sliced Raisin Bread

And there it is! All done and sliced. And eaten. Yum. The morning after I made this I woke up early and made some french toast for Matt with it. He proclaimed it the best french toast ever but he might be slightly prejudiced.