So it was my first time baking in the year of 2010. And it was terrible. I picked "Cinnamon Swirls" from my recipe book. I bought everything I needed at supermarket but I forgot the milk (I wonder why somehow I always forget one or two things). So I had to buy the milk at the convenience store downstairs (which is more expensive). I've read the instruction well except for the part where it says "Rub in the chopped butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs". What I did, I just mixed everything all together. Fortunately, my sister, who is taking baking course, came and read the whole recipe and pointed out my mistake. There's nothing she could do, so I just continued with what I had already done. Then when I started to mix the milk and egg, everything got worse. It should have resembled a bread dough by now, but it was too wet and sticky. So I threw everything away and started all over again. This time I did it right by rubbing the butter with my fingertips and I slowly poured the milk and egg, ended up not using the whole thing as stated in the recipe (damn you, bloody recipe!)
After finished baking, I tried the swirls and it was fairly good, not great though. My sister kept telling me that it was great. The whole room smelled good anyway. But I had a little doubt about the swirls. I thought that it was good because it was fresh from the oven. I was sure that once the swirls got cold, it wouldn't be as good as now. I was right. The next morning I ate a bite and it was hard and crunchy. I didn't like it at all so I threw away the whole thing. I couldn't figure out what went wrong. Anyway, here's the recipe :
Cinnamon Swirls
(makes 12)
Ingredients :
- 25g butter, cut into small pieces, plus extra for greasing
- 225g strong white flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 7g easy blend dried yeast
- 1 egg (I used probably about 3/4 of it)
- 125g (I used less than this) lukewarm milk
- 2tbsp maple syrup, for glazing (I used golden syrup)
filling :
- 55g butter, softened
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 50g soft light brown sugar
- 50g currants (I used raisins)
Method :
1. Grease a baking sheet and a bowl. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and stir in the yeast.
2. Rub in the chopped butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and milk and mix to form a dough.
3. Form the dough into a ball, place in the greased bowl, cover and leave to stand in a warm place for about 40 minutes, or until doubled in volume.
4. Punch down the dough lightly for 1 minute, then roll out to a rectangle measuring 30x23 cm.
5. For the filling, cream together the softened butter, cinnamon and sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Spread the filling over the dough, leaving a 2.5cm border. Sprinkle the currants evenly over the top. Roll up the dough from one of the long edges and press down to seal.
7. Preheat the oven to 190C. Cut the roll into 12 slices and place them, cut side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Cover and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until the swirls are well risen. Brush with maple syrup and leave to cool slightly before serving.
After finished baking, I tried the swirls and it was fairly good, not great though. My sister kept telling me that it was great. The whole room smelled good anyway. But I had a little doubt about the swirls. I thought that it was good because it was fresh from the oven. I was sure that once the swirls got cold, it wouldn't be as good as now. I was right. The next morning I ate a bite and it was hard and crunchy. I didn't like it at all so I threw away the whole thing. I couldn't figure out what went wrong. Anyway, here's the recipe :
Cinnamon Swirls
(makes 12)
Ingredients :
- 25g butter, cut into small pieces, plus extra for greasing
- 225g strong white flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 7g easy blend dried yeast
- 1 egg (I used probably about 3/4 of it)
- 125g (I used less than this) lukewarm milk
- 2tbsp maple syrup, for glazing (I used golden syrup)
filling :
- 55g butter, softened
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 50g soft light brown sugar
- 50g currants (I used raisins)
Method :
1. Grease a baking sheet and a bowl. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and stir in the yeast.
2. Rub in the chopped butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and milk and mix to form a dough.
3. Form the dough into a ball, place in the greased bowl, cover and leave to stand in a warm place for about 40 minutes, or until doubled in volume.
4. Punch down the dough lightly for 1 minute, then roll out to a rectangle measuring 30x23 cm.
5. For the filling, cream together the softened butter, cinnamon and sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Spread the filling over the dough, leaving a 2.5cm border. Sprinkle the currants evenly over the top. Roll up the dough from one of the long edges and press down to seal.
7. Preheat the oven to 190C. Cut the roll into 12 slices and place them, cut side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Cover and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until the swirls are well risen. Brush with maple syrup and leave to cool slightly before serving.
