If I try hard enoughI can almost a remember a time when my idea of unwinding after a long work week was heading out for cocktails with girlfriends. (Okayso it really wasn’t that long ago.) But nowadaysfew things are more soothing than spending some quality time creaming buttersugar and eggs in the KitchenAid. Surecooking with a 3.5-year-old isn’t entirely relaxingbut it is especially rewarding to see the boy bite into a fresh baked cookie or slice of bread with glee and to watch him proudly boast to his dad“Look what Mommy and me made!” And there’s no better time than February (hello Valentine’s Day) to share home baked goodies with the ones you love. So I’m declaring February “Homemade with Love” month here at FoodieTots. I hope you’ll join in and share what you and your kids are bakingtoo. There may even be a round-up at the end of the month if you have links to share.
First up is Cinnamon Swirl Breadthe next entry in my Bread Baker’s Apprentice challenge. Peter Reinhart’s bread calls for raisins and walnutswhich I like well enoughbut I wanted to make a simple cinnamon bread first. This is the bread that inspired me to join the challengeas I have strong memories of my mother baking cinnamon bread and the warm fragrance that filled the house. I don’t even remember if she ever made it more than oncebut the cinnamon-sweet scent has stayed with me all these yearsand motivated me to overcome my phobia of yeast.
This is a pretty simple breadthe dough smooth and pliable. In addition to omitting the raisins and nutsI replaced the shortening with melted butter. The boy helped me kneadgiving it a few enthusiastic whacks and pokes.
To add the cinnamon swirlyou simply pat the dough out into a rectanglespread it with a generous layer of cinnamon-sugarthen roll up into a loaf. (You can see pictures of this step on Pinch My Salt’s post.) After a second rise in the loaf pansit heads into the oven to bake.
(You can see the pronounced difference between the crappy over-stove fluorescent lighting and my Ego lightsthe dough didn’t actually turn from yellow to white…) I had a stuffy nose the day I baked itso the scent wasn’t as strong as I’d rememberedbut the taste was everything I remembered.
Cinnamon swirl bread is best with a generous spread of fresh-from-the-farm butterand maybe a little more of that cinnamon-sugar on top. Delish. Of courseif you somehow don’t finish the loaf the first day or twoit also makes scrumptious French toast. And needless to saythe boy was quite pleased with the finished product.
If I try hard enoughI can almost a remember a time when my idea of unwinding after a long work week was heading out for cocktails with girlfriends. (Okayso it really wasn’t that long ago.) But nowadaysfew things are more soothing than spending some quality time creaming buttersugar and eggs in the KitchenAid. Surecooking with a 3.5-year-old isn’t entirely relaxingbut it is especially rewarding to see the boy bite into a fresh baked cookie or slice of bread with glee and to watch him proudly boast to his dad“Look what Mommy and me made!” And there’s no better time than February (hello Valentine’s Day) to share home baked goodies with the ones you love. So I’m declaring February “Homemade with Love” month here at FoodieTots. I hope you’ll join in and share what you and your kids are bakingtoo. There may even be a round-up at the end of the month if you have links to share.
First up is Cinnamon Swirl Breadthe next entry in my Bread Baker’s Apprentice challenge. Peter Reinhart’s bread calls for raisins and walnutswhich I like well enoughbut I wanted to make a simple cinnamon bread first. This is the bread that inspired me to join the challengeas I have strong memories of my mother baking cinnamon bread and the warm fragrance that filled the house. I don’t even remember if she ever made it more than oncebut the cinnamon-sweet scent has stayed with me all these yearsand motivated me to overcome my phobia of yeast.
This is a pretty simple breadthe dough smooth and pliable. In addition to omitting the raisins and nutsI replaced the shortening with melted butter. The boy helped me kneadgiving it a few enthusiastic whacks and pokes.
To add the cinnamon swirlyou simply pat the dough out into a rectanglespread it with a generous layer of cinnamon-sugarthen roll up into a loaf. (You can see pictures of this step on Pinch My Salt’s post.) After a second rise in the loaf pansit heads into the oven to bake.
(You can see the pronounced difference between the crappy over-stove fluorescent lighting and my Ego lightsthe dough didn’t actually turn from yellow to white…) I had a stuffy nose the day I baked itso the scent wasn’t as strong as I’d rememberedbut the taste was everything I remembered.
Cinnamon swirl bread is best with a generous spread of fresh-from-the-farm butterand maybe a little more of that cinnamon-sugar on top. Delish. Of courseif you somehow don’t finish the loaf the first day or twoit also makes scrumptious French toast. And needless to saythe boy was quite pleased with the finished product.