You can use any white bread recipe to make any swirl breads listed below. The cinnamon raisin version is a classic, inspired by a recipe from James Beard. The sherry gives an unusual complexity to the sweet raisins and brown sugar, and most of the alcohol is cooked off while the mixture simmers. Feel free to use apple cider instead. This recipe makes two loaves, one to eat right away, preferably warm from the oven, or toasted and buttered the next day. Freeze the other loaf and use it to make what is arguably the best French toast imaginable.
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 ¼ teaspoons/7 grams active dry yeast (1 package)
- 1 ½ cups/355 grams lukewarm milk
- ⅓ cup/67 grams granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon/15 grams kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons/43 grams butter, melted, more for greasing bowl and pans
- 2 eggs
- 5 to 6 cups/625 grams to 750 grams all-purpose flour
For the filling:
- ⅓ cup/79 milliliters dry sherry or apple cider
- 1 ½ cups/225 grams raisins
- 4 tablespoons/57 grams butter, melted
- ½ cup/100 grams dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon/8 grams cinnamon
- Cinnamon sugar, for dusting (optional)
- Nutritional Information
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
475 calories; 10 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 85 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 31 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 62 milligrams cholesterol; 619 milligrams sodium
Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
2 loaves
Preparation
- Make the dough: In a large electric mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm milk. Add the remaining warm milk, the sugar, the salt, the butter and the eggs. Add 5 cups flour and mix with paddle attachment until smooth, about 2 minutes. Switch to hook attachment and knead on low speed, adding more flour if necessary until dough is stiff and slightly tacky, about 10 minutes.
- Grease a large bowl with butter and turn dough out into the bowl. Flip dough over so greased side is up, cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, about 11/2 to 2 hours. Generously butter two 9-x-5 loaf pans.
- Meanwhile, make the filling: In a small pot, bring sherry to a low boil and simmer until reduced by half, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add raisins, cover and let sit until needed for filling.
- When dough has doubled in size, turn dough out onto floured surface and knead for 3 minutes. Return to greased bowl, cover and let rise again for 30 minutes.
- Press down dough with your hand to expel the air. Divide dough in half and roll one half into a 16-x-8-inch rectangle. Brush with some of the melted butter. Drain raisins and mix with sugar and cinnamon; scatter half of the mixture over the dough and, starting with the shorter side, roll up tightly into an 8-inch log, tucking the ends under. Place roll seam-side down in a loaf pan and brush top with melted butter; dust with cinnamon sugar if desired. Repeat with second dough half.
- Cover and let rise until dough is just above the tops of pans, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake bread for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped, the tops are brown and the internal temperatures are 200 degrees. Remove loaves from pans and let cool on wire racks.
- To use a different swirl, skip Step 3 and use these fillings instead in Step 5. (Do not add cinnamon and sugar in Step 5, and skip the dusting of cinnamon sugar at the end.)
- Lemon ginger filling: Combine 11/2 cups candied ginger, finely chopped, with 3 tablespoons lemon zest (from about 4 lemons).
- Orange marmalade filling: Use 11/2 cups thick orange marmalade (do not use anything runny, like a jelly).
- Coconut dulce de leche filling: Combine 1 cup coconut flakes, 1 teaspoon cardamom and 3/4 cup dulce de leche or cajeta.
4 hours 15 minutes
Dining and Cooking