My Kitchen Clatter

Real Food - Real Life

Cinnamon Star Bread

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Cinnamon Star Bread

Serving Size:
8-16
Time:
4 hours total
Difficulty:
Medium

Ingredients – Dough

  • 2 cups (240 g) of unbleached all-purpose flour (such as King Arthur Flour in the red bag)
  • 3/4 cup (184 g) of milk (preferably whole)
  • 4 T (57 g) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 t vanilla extract
  • 2 t instant yeast
  • 2 T (25 g) sugar
  • 1 t salt

Ingredients – Filling (and Egg Wash)

  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (99 g) sugar
  • 1 T cinnamon

Directions

  1. Heat the milk to about 110 degrees – it should be lukewarm. I heat mine 1 minute in the microwave.
  2. Combine the milk, 1 cup of flour, butter, vanilla, yeast and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl, if you are mixing by hand. Slowly add the salt and enough of the remaining flour to form a shaggy dough that forms a ball. 
  3. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes until it forms a smooth ball. The dough should be soft but not sticky. 
  4. Oil a large bowl (I use canola or another neutral flavored oil) and place the dough in the bowl. Roll the dough in the oil. Cover with a towel and place in a warm, draft free spot such as a slightly heated oven. Allow to rise about an hour until the dough has about doubled.
  5. After the dough has risen, remove from the bowl and gently deflate. Divide into four equal portions. Shape each quarter into a ball and allow to rest 10 minutes.
  6. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Beat the egg in a small bowl and combine the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
  7. Prepare a baking sheet by lining with a sheet of parchment or silicon baking mat.
  8. After the dough portions have rested, take one portion and roll out into a 10-inch circle. Gently move the circle onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the dough with the egg and then sprinkle with about 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar. Roll a second dough, and lay it on top of the first circle. Repeat with egg and cinnamon sugar until all of the doughs are layered. The top dough does not get egg and cinnamon sugar treatment. 
  9. Set a glass or other circle with about a 3-inch diameter in the center of the dough. This will act as a template so you don’t cut too far into the center.
  10. Using scissors or a bench knife, cut the circle into 16 even sections – stopping at the center circle marker. Remove the center circle marker.
  11. Take two strips of dough next to each other in each hand and twist away from each other two times, then pinch the strips together at the end. Repeat around the circle so that you have eight twists. 
  12. Allow the dough to rise in a warm spot again for about 45 minutes. It should be puffy at the end of this rise. 
  13. While the dough is rising, heat the oven to 400 degrees.
  14. At the end of the rise, gently brush a light layer of the egg over the top of the dough. 
  15. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the bread is golden with dark cinnamon streaks. The center should register 200 degrees F on a digital thermometer. 
  16. 16.Remove from oven and allow to rest about 10 minutes before serving. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve warm or at room temperature. 
  17. You can also allow it to cool completely at this point and wrap in tin foil or freezer paper and freeze. To serve from frozen, allow to come to room temperature overnight (either in the fridge or on the counter) and then heat (covered loosely with tin foil in a 325 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes. 

Whole Wheat Pancakes

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Whole Wheat Pancakes

Snowman PancakeI can often bribe my boys to stay in bed at night by promising them a special breakfast the next morning.  The other night, they requested snowman chocolate chip pancakes. No problem.  Just a slight modification on the regular pancake recipe and you’ve got snowmen – and really happy little boys.  You can see in the photo, that we also gave gingerbread man shaped pancakes a shot.  Eh, I prefer the snowmen.  But, if you want fancier shapes, you can use metal cookie cutters to get different shapes.  Just don’t overfill the cookie cutter, or you’ll get overflow that ruins your shape.  Also – remember to oil the cutters before you start.

For my chocolate chip pancakes, I sparingly add a few chocolate chips after I’ve poured the batter onto a hot griddle.  I do the same for blueberries – you can use frozen or fresh.

Lumps are okay! At least in pancake batter.This is what your batter should look like once you’ve mixed the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Don’t overstir it – the lumps are okay.  Just 10-15 strokes with a wooden spoon or spatula and you’ll be good.  Too much stirring will make your pancakes tough.  And we don’t want that.

It is also a good idea to let the batter rest 5-10 minutes before you start making the pancakes.  It helps to let the flour absorb some liquid and gives it more rise on the griddle.

Once you have this recipe mastered, try substituting half of the whole wheat flour with buckwheat flour.  It makes your pancakes so amazingly tender.  Just watch out – the pancakes from I-Hop may never taste as good again.

I even forgot the sugar the last time I made these, and no one noticed the difference.  The cinnamon and butter gave them enough flavor – of course, the maple syrup probably didn’t hurt either.

And of course, my standard disclaimer – the freshly ground whole grain flours make the difference in this recipe.  If you try this recipe with store bought whole wheat – they will be good, but not as good it can get.

Whole Wheat Pancakes
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12 pancakes
Ingredients
  • 1 cup (4.5 oz) of whole wheat flour – I use freshly ground
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t baking soda
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1 t sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup of buttermilk, sour milk, or whey
  • 1 T coconut oil or butter, melted
Instructions
  1. While preparing the batter, heat a cast iron skillet or griddle on the stovetop. Throw some bacon on there, if you want.
  2. Whisk together dry ingredients (flour through sugar) in a large bowl. Whisk egg to break the yolk and combine with buttermilk. Add egg mixture and oil to the dry ingredients. Whisk until just wet – it doesn’t need to be smooth, a few lumps are okay.
  3. When the griddle is hot enough that a couple water drops dance on it, you are ready to cook your pancakes. I use a soup ladle to spoon the batter onto the griddle. This is when I add chocolate chips or blueberries to the pancakes. Flip when you see the bubbles start to pop. Cook for a minute or so on the second side until they are nicely browned. Enjoy!