Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread & Blackout!

Yesterday, Melawati satu hari panas. Dari pagi, sampai la ke petang. Iffah tak pegi sekolah KAFA because dia ada latihan sukan, she's in the acara padang team ie lumba lari. Mula2 Iffah cakap dia masuk lumba lari, I was shocked!! Mama dia tak penah masuk lumba lari.

So, kiranya, dalam our family, memang takde ahli sukan. Maybe Iffah ikut her Pak Anjang (my youngest brother) yang keje dia mengumpul pingat both in curriculum activities and in academic. Hopefully Iffah will also excel macam Pak Anjang. Latihan sukan semalam habis at 6pm. Lepas ambik Iffah from school, I went to picked up Iman kat KAFA.

Elok je ambik Iman, hujan pun start turun. Mula2 ingatkan hujan renyai2 je macam selalu. Rupanya tak. It was raining cats and dogs semalam. The problem with my house is (rumah yang dah almost 40 tahun usia), bila hujan je, mesti blackout. Semalam was really bad. Bukan takat blackout je, but fuse terbakar, maka, the whole house bergelap. Even when I tried to on the main switch, still tak boleh. Kena tunggu Chan (electrician) datang to fix it today. So, last nite, aku tido rumah mok with the girls. Hubby came home late, pagi tadi pukul 6am baru balik. Bengkek je aku coz I had to wake up and opened pintu rumah mok for him..

Lately ni, mood memasak memang sentiasa ada. Maybe sebab aku ada kawan yang sama2 bersemangat untuk masak, my x-roomate masa kat Tasmania dulu, Mate (nama dia Dila, kita org panggil Mate). Everyday, ada je idea nak masak. Selalunya malam sebelum tido, aku akan bloghop and bagi idea what to cook dalam facebook. Once we agreed, masing2 akan keluar cari barang dan masak dan upload dalam facebook. Best!! Rindu betul aku kat Mate. Since aku pegi her wedding about 8 years ago, aku tak jumpa lagi dia. She lives in Singapore now with her hubby.

What did we cook yesterday? It's Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread. Err.. takde leftovers sebab Iffah makan 1 loaf roti tu. I made it into 2 loaves sebab my loaf pans kecik je.

I wanted to upload more photos but takde letrik kat rumah. Ni pun pinjam laptop adik aku Mas kat rumah mok. This photo I took from my facebook. This bread is PERFECT!! Dah makan, takleh stop.

The Recipe
Joy the Baker

For the Dough

2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ounces unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned

In a large mixing bowl (I used just the bowl of my stand mixer) whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.Set aside

Whisk together eggs and set aside

In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract.  Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125 degrees F

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together. Keep stirring. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be sticky. That’s just right.

Place the dough is a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. *The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning. If you’re using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below

While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling. Set aside. Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned. Set aside. Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Set that aside too

Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long. If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay. Just roll it as large as the dough will go. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough. Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture. It might seem like a lot of sugar. Seriously? Just go for it

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw. A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board. Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up. Serve warm with coffee or tea.

I think this bread is best served the day it’s made, but it can also we wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days