Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Today I made bread.....I'm going through a bread phase, and its excellent. I'm loving it so much (nearly as much as the pie phase, and a heap more than the scone phase.) There is just something so very wholesome about making your own bread. Its best to do when you're having a home day so you can give it as much time as possible to prove, and rise. So its perfect for a lazy sunday........I know, I know, making bread from scratch doesn't sound like a lazy Sunday, but trust me, it feels sooo good. The kneading is so good for your soul, and having fresh bread for breakfast makes getting up at 6 am so much less scary. Unlike the picture of me......which is super scary. So scary in fact, I had to hide behind the bread.

This is a treat bread, and its so very yummy. I got the recipe of another food blog and I've tweaked it to work for me. Give it a go and let me know what you think.

Cinnamon swirl bread.

What you will need:

• 1/3 cup of milk
• 1 and 1/2 tbs of butter
• 1tbs of olive oil
• 1 egg
• Half a cup of warm water
• 1 and 3/4 tsp of yeast (just the dried packet stuff)
• 1/8 cup of sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 tbs cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of currents
• 1 and 3/4 cups of plain flour
• 1 cup of wholemeal flour

For the filling:

• 1/4 cup of sugar (I used raw caster sugar......its less processed, better for you)
• 1 tbs of cinnamon
• 1 tbs of milk

What to do: 

 Place your milk, butter and oil in a pot. Warm slightly so that the butter melts. Put aside to cool.



Next place warm water (just luke warm...you don't want it to be too hot or the yeast wont like it) in a bowl with the yeast. Leave for about 10 to 15 minutes until it starts to bubble.

Once your milk mix has cooled down add, beat the egg and add it.

The next step can either be done in a kitchen aid or buy hand. Basically all you need to do is mix all the ingredients together. So place the cinnamon, sugar, currents, yeast mix and flour in a bowl. Give it all a stir, and then slowly add the egg and milk mix.

Once all the ingredients are incorporated, its time for the kneading! In a kitchen aid you the dough hook attachment, but if your doing it by hand, just use a lightly floured bench. Knead for about ten minutes until the dough is soft and elastic. If its a little big too sticky feel free to add extra flour.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave it here to rest until it doubles in size. This will probably take about an hour. 

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it in the middle to knock the air out of it. Roll into a rectangle and brush with milk.

Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the bread. 

Roll the bread up into a log shape and place in an oiled bread tin. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rest for about an hour until it has doubled in size. If it takes longer thank this don't worry, just give it all the time it needs.

Bake the bread in a moderate oven (180) for 45 minutes, or until its brown on top and sounds hollow when you tap it on the bottom.