Fresh-Milled Sourdough Cinnamon- Raisin Swirl Bread-The Tangzhong method
This recipe uses Fresh-milled flour, sourdough starter, and the Tangzhong method! This recipe was adapted from Grainsinsmallplaces! I also followed her instructions for the Tangzhong method. This bread turned out wonderfully! It’s super soft and stays fresh for longer! This bread had the perfect texture that you want in a sandwich bread. I love the warmth of the cinnamon and brown sugar paired with the raisins! The bread tastes amazing toasted, topped off with some butter.
Slicing the loaf
I loved cutting the loaf open to reveal the cinnamon swirl! It will look different every time you make it, which is the fun part! I think this bread would be so good as French toast, especially when it’s starting to get a little stale.
I will say, I think I accidentally put too much water in my egg wash, which caused the top of the bread to have some cracking, but other than that, it turned out great! I had a bigger loaf pan, so it was a big loaf and needed to bake longer. Next time, I will either 1.5 times the recipe or use smaller pans.
Filling the dough
This was fun to spread out! I tried to evenly distribute the raisins so they wouldn’t all be in one bite.
Shaping the loaf
You want to make sure you cover your clean surface with plenty of flour so that your dough doesn’t stick. Mine stuck a little bit. Luckily, I was able to pick it up without it tearing too much. Everyone shapes their dough differently. I rolled mine into a log shape, making sure there was surface tension but still being gentle, and then tucked in the edges.
This was honestly the best sandwich bread I have ever made! I’m so excited to make more sourdough sandwich bread using the Tangzhong method. It helps so much! And to think I never even heard of it until recently. I was intimidated by this method, but now that I’ve attempted it, the process is much easier than I thought! I definitely will be using it again! The dough was super stretchy and soft. It is also a sticky dough, so just use a bit of water on your fingers when you do the window pane test, and it won’t stick as much.
Fresh-Milled Sourdough Cinnamon- Raisin Swirl Bread-The Tangzhong method
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer
- 1 sauce pan
- 1 spatula
- 1 5X9 loaf pan or 2 4X8 pans
Ingredients
For the tangzhong paste
- ½ cup flour
- ¾ cup milk
Bread dough
- 4 cups Fresh-Milled Flour I used ½ hard white and ½ Kamut
- 1½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup water
- 1 cup active & bubbly sourdough starter
- 3 TBSP butter
- 3 TBSP honey
Cinnamon Raisin Filling
- 1 egg to use on dough and to use the rest as an egg wash
- 3 TBSP flour
- 2 TBSP cinnamon
- ½ cup brown sugar
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- First, mill your flour.4 cups Fresh-Milled Flour
- Next, make the Tangzhong paste. Combine milk with flour in a saucepan.½ cup flour, ¾ cup milk
- Heat mixture on medium-high heat until it forms a paste. Once it forms a paste, remove from heat, and allow it to cool at room temperature.
- Now, combine the water and sourdough starter together in a bowl.¾ cup water, 1 cup active & bubbly sourdough starter
- Melt your butter and put in the stand mixer bowl.3 TBSP butter
- Put in honey, egg, and salt and mix to combine.3 TBSP honey, 1 egg, 1½ tsp salt
- Add your sourdough water mixture into the bowl.
- Next, add the flour to the mixer and combine until there is no dry flour left.
- Place the Tangzhong paste into the bowl and mix until it is full combined.
- Let your dough sit for about 15minutes, so the flour can fully absorb the liquid.
- Now you can start the kneading process. knead the dough until you get a succesful window pane test, cover your dough and let rise until doubled. This can take 2-4 hours depending on the temperature.
- While the dough rises, you can make the filling. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, salt, brown sugar and raisins together. cover and set aside.3 TBSP flour, 2 TBSP cinnamon , ½ cup brown sugar, pinch of salt, ½ cup raisins
- Once the dough has doubled, sprinkle flour on a clean surface, then take your dough and press the dough into a rectangle.
- Crack an egg into a bowl and mix together. Apply egg to dough rectangle, making sure not to apply on the edges.
- Spread the cinnamon raisin mixture onto the dough and avoid the very edge. Press into the dough gently and make sure the filling is pretty even.
- Time to roll up the dough, At the short end of the dough take the 2 corners and form a triangle. Then fold over and start to roll up the dough, making sure to create tension, make sure to be gentle so the dough doesn't rip. Take the 2 ends of the dough and tuck them in.
- Place into the buttered bread pan.
- Cover the loaf and let rise about an hour, until it is puffy and grown in size.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Close to the end of the 2nd rise.
- Once your loaf has risen, add a little water to the remaining egg to make an egg wash. Brush on top of your loaf.
- Bake loaf between 50-60 minutes. Depending on your loaf size.
- When your bread has baked, remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack. Allow your bread to cool completely before slicing.
- Cut into your beautiful cinnamon raisin swirl loaf and enjoy!
Notes
- You can store your bread in an airtight container or bag on the counter for 1-3 days.
- You can freeze the loaf in a freezer safe bag for about 3 months.
- Or you can slice the loaf, place parchment between each slice and place in a freezer safe bag for easy toasting.
