Tea Time Again: Stacking the Dough

This isn’t what comes to mind. I don’t have dollar bills laying around that I spend time counting and stacking in piles. Although that would be a nice pastime….

If you know me, I’d tell you dough belongs in the kitchen and that is where it is. I love working with dough. I know people are intimidated when they think of making anything that includes yeast and rising time. Baking is all about following directions and should a recipe fail, make it again. Making dough and creating something wonderful is simple. Don’t ever let a recipe intimidate you. Instead, be prepared and read the complete recipe. Sometimes you have to account for the time it takes to make the recipe. Some dough and cookie recipes have to be mixed up then placed in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. So important tip – read the recipe first. Don’t just start making it and then realize you can’t bake it today. I’ve done that and it is nothing but a disappointment.

For Valentine’s Day, I made a heart shaped cream puff. My mom always made one for us on this holiday and I like to keep treasured childhood traditions alive by sharing them with my family (with modifications on this tradition because my family doesn’t care for strawberries. Yeah, I know, I can’t believe it). I remember we’d get off the bus and run into the house to see the heart-shaped cream puff with homemade vanilla pudding and strawberries between the layers, sprinkled with confectionery sugar. We wanted to dive right in and eat it. Same with the cinnamon rolls mom would make for us. I am still working on getting my cinnamon rolls to rise as much as the rolls my mom made so my family can truly enjoy the proper way of eating a huge cinnamon roll. You have to eat it in pieces as you unroll it. As everyone knows, the best part of the cinnamon roll is the center and not the icing. Savoring each delicious sugary-cinnamon piece, eating it slowly and finishing by licking your fingers. That’s the way to eat them. I’m off track but I go crazy for dough.

So this years’ Valentine’s Day puff was looking great. It was almost finished baking and was about four inches high with a beautiful golden glow. Wow. I couldn’t wait to prepare it and place it before my family. A work of art baked with love. So when the timer went off, I pulled it out of the oven, placed it on the counter and left the kitchen. Not something I would recommend. Why I removed the pan from the oven when I should have left it in the oven with the door open…the beautiful cream puff lost its puff. I was so upset with myself. If I hadn’t already made the homemade vanilla pudding, I would have thrown it away. But then, I knew it would still taste good but the impressive presentation I had planned, was not going to happen. We still enjoyed it and next year, I am sure to remember what not to do!

My family enjoys homemade bread and as soon as the cooler weather comes to our area, I start baking bread. Our favorite bread is a buttermilk recipe. The loaf disappears with the meal. I always time it so the bread is warm so the butter melts and we can have it with our meal. The smell alone is worth mixing up a batch of dough.

On January 17, I made a new cinnamon-roll recipe. Instead of rolling the dough, this recipe called for cutting and stacking the dough. It’s all in the technique. So I made the recipe and as expected, it was a hit with my family. Stacked cinnamon-y bread. Delicious!

To share is a gift. Time for you to head to the kitchen.

Cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread

Yield: one 9x5” loaf

For the dough:

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

½ cup sugar

2 ¼ tsp. instant yeast

½ tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. butter

1/3 cup milk

¼ cup water

1 tsp. vanilla

2 large eggs

For the filling:

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

To make the dough: Combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in mixer bowl. Combine butter and milk in small saucepan and heat just until butter is melted. Set aside and let cool briefly, until the mixture registers 115-125˚F on a thermometer. Add the milk mixture, water, vanilla and eggs to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed. Add more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until dough forms a ball. Remove to board and continue kneading until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour as needed. Lightly grease a bowl, place dough in bowl, turn once to coat and cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (After the dough has doubled, it can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before proceeding).

While the dough rises, add the butter to a small saucepan and melt until browned. Set aside. Combine the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl and mix well.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Roll the dough into a 12 x 20-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the dough.

Cut the dough into strips and stack on top of each other.

Then cut stacks into equal slices. (My bread board I use all the time was my great-grandma Crane's. She would be happy that it is still used often.)

Grease a 9x5” loaf pan. Set the stack of squares into the pan.

Cover loosely with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 350˚ oven for 30-35 minutes. If the top seems to be browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil at the end of baking. Remove from the oven and let rest in pan for 25-30 minutes.