Easter Baking

As Karen mentioned, the hot cross buns were quite a success. We went with the recipe out of the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book (thanks, Mah Family!) which called for milk and an egg or two. Raisins (currants, actually) are traditional, but I generally leave them out. I threw them in this year because they are one of Ruth Anne's favorites. Interestingly, the authors maintain that ground cinnamon 1. interferes with gluten development because it is so sharp and 2. interacts oddly with yeast, inhibiting its rise and possibly leaving a metallic aftertaste. Now, the buns need some spice in or on them (otherwise it's just a sweet bread with some raisins in it), and the book suggests a honey/spice glaze. Excellent idea.

After the initial mixing, the dough was very soft and still pretty sticky, so I broke down and used the stand mixer for it. It was also Friday after a rainy day and fasting, so I didn't feel like fighting with the dough. Sure, it was lazy of me, but after I had milled the 900grams of flour (right about two pounds) earlier in the day, I thought I deserved it.

After the first rise, we all worked on shaping the rolls (Ruth Anne, too, who got to play with an ounce of dough. She mainly took the raisins out then stuck them back in. She didn't eat the raisins, probably because we were watching her like hawks). The recipe makes 30 two-ounce rolls or 60 one-ounce (give or take an ounce total). Since we had been invited to an Easter brunch, we split the difference: 30 small and 15 large. The large ones we baked that night so we could warm them Saturday and eat right away. The small got an overnight rise.

The combination of really fine flour and mechanical kneading meant that the gluten formed up really well. Really, really well. The yeast was just at the right temperature, too, to be quite active. So active that most of my cross indents rose right out of the buns. I guess that's what the icing is for (milk powder, honey and some butter, laced with cinnamon and other spices).

The rolls came out nice and soft, with a great texture. Just sweet enough, even with the honey glaze. Of course, after a sugar-free Lent, we could feel the sugar buzz in about 5 minutes. Ah, Easter traditions.

The other project was herb bread to go with our Easter feast. I baked this on Saturday so we could take it for blessing after Glorious Saturday mass (a Polish/Eastern European tradition). The recipe reads like one designed for a bread machine, but the directions are for hand mixing and kneading. It needs some work, but it wasn't the time to mess around with it. It's a rich dough (it has butter and eggs in it), so appropriate for an Easter feast. This one was very easy to knead by hand, and again it rose extremely well on the first rise.

The dough gets deflated, then divided in three and rolled into long ropes for braiding. Once braided, it gets spiraled into a round loaf. Part of why I like the recipe is simply because it is very pretty, and after the herbs hydrate in the dough, it smells really nice. Again, we hit it right with the flour and yeast temperature, so it rose fantastically.

In the end, the texture was fine, and it tasted pretty good, too, but like I said, needs a few tweaks to make it a really good loaf. Right now, the flavor is a little light, maybe because it has lots of yeast in it for a quick rise, and I prefer the flavors that develop with much longer, slower rising times. The egg might diminish some of the other flavors, too, so that might have to be taken out the next time. The butter definitely stays, though, to help give it a more silky texture and carry some of the herb flavors.