Fill bread basket with cinnamon — mmmmm
There’s nothing quite like the smell of fresh bread as it bakes in the oven. The mouthwatering aromas waft through the house, drawing you closer to the kitchen in anticipation of that first warm slice topped with butter slowly melting on its surface.
But few of us have the time or inclination to knead the dough, let it rise, punch it down and wait for it to rise again before shaping it and baking it. That’s why breakfast breads — flavored with bananas, apples or blueberries — are much-loved and appreciated. They require no rising or shaping, just mixing and baking.
Those fruit-flavored breads are best served with a cup of coffee in the morning or a cup of tea in the afternoon, but they go back in the basket when it comes to dinnertime.
Cinnamon bread, on the other hand, pulls double duty, good any time of day and with any meal. Not only is it a delicious way to wake up in the a.m., it’s an unexpected treat when tucked beneath a napkin and passed around the table after dinner. In fact, my husband couldn’t wait for it to cool down and had a piece for dessert, warm and slathered with butter. But it really doesn’t need butter as it’s a moist bread, particularly if you wait till the next day, giving the bread plenty of time to rest and cool.
I remember dining at Town and Country Restaurant where you could always count on a few cinnamon rolls being part of the bread basket brought to tables for supper. And they were always the first to go. Though this recipe is for bread, not rolls, the result is the same. It will be the first thing to go, and your family will be asking for more. I cannot imagine a better bread to comfort us through the rest of the winter season.
Make-Ahead Cinnamon Bread
2/3 cup brown sugar 4 teaspoons cinnamon 2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking
powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9by 5-inch loaf pan. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and white sugar. In separate bowl, combine egg, milk and oil; add to flour mixture, stirring until just combined.
Pour half of the batter in the prepared pan, then sprinkle with half of the reserved cinnamon mixture. Repeat with remaining batter and cinnamon mixture. Draw a knife through the batter to marble. This may take a minute because you want the cinnamon mixture on top to mostly incorporate into the batter. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap in foil, and let sit in refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight before slicing.
SAVOR, SIP & BID
East Lake Montessori school will host a fun evening at Feed Co. Table & Tavern 5:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12, featuring the delicious food of chef Charlie Loomis, who recently beat celebrity chef Bobby Flay at his own game on the popular show “Beat Bobby Flay.”
Savor, Sip & Bid is the theme for the evening and will feature not only Loomis’ fabulous fare, but also select wines and a silent auction to support the school’s important legacy scholarship program allowing children in the East Lake neighborhood to attend East Lake Montessori.
Tickets are $50 per person and may be purchased through Venmo (@EastLakeMontessori) or by card, cash or check by emailing elmontessoridevdir@gmail.com.
For you cheese lovers traveling to London in the near future, there’s a new, one-suite “hotel” dedicated to everything cheese. Draped from head to toe in a cheese-themed decor, the Cheese Suite by Cafe Rouge includes a cheese hotline delivery service, cheese board games, cheese soap and giant cheese installations, not forgetting cheese boards and crackers galore for guests to enjoy. The opening coincides with
Cafe Rouge’s cheesefilled winter menu. For reservations, log onto www.caferouge.com/ cheese-suite.