Flour Power!
Written by Rocky Mountain Woman on March 15, 2013 – 6:17 am -I have posted about King Arthur Flour before, but given the fact that National Flour Month is this month and this recipe is absolutely perfect for Easter, I thought a little update/repost was in order.
Have you ever tried King Arthur Flour? It really can step your baking ability up a notch. It is in my opinion, the absolute best flour you can buy, every bag is exactly the same as the last. I don’t use anything else unless I am stranded on a desert island or in a strange kitchen with nothing but ordinary flour….
You can buy it in most grocery stores, but for a real treat, check out their website http://kingarthurflour.com/ . Not only do they have all kinds of cool things to buy, there are amazing tips and recipes, like this one:
Ingredient List:
Sponge:
3/4 cup warm water
2 t sugar
1 T instant yeast
1/2 cup flour
Dough:
all of the sponge
3/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
2 t salt
2 t vanilla
5 cups flour
egg wash
Cream Cheese Filling:
2/3 cup cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 t fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup prepared lemon curd
In a small bowl, combine the sponge ingredients, stir well to combine, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes
When the sponge gets all bubbly and happy
place it in a bowl with the yogurt, butter, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla and 4 1/2 cups of the flour. Mix until it is a rough shaggy mess
Switch to a dough hook, or turn it out on the counter and knead it until the dough comes together nicely and springs back when you poke it. If using the dough hook (which is sooooo much easier), knead about six minutes on speed 2, adding flour in both cases if needed to make a soft smooth dough
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl
cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for about an hour or hour and half or until the dough has nearly doubled
when it has nearly finished rising make the cream cheese mixture by combining all the filling ingredients (except the lemon curd) in a small bowl
when the dough has finished rising, gently deflate it and cut it in half, roll 1/2 of the dough on parchment paper into roughly a 10″ x 15″ rectangle. Cut into three lengthwise strips and spread half the cream cheese mixture on the center strip, followed by half of the lemon curd.
then braid it just like you would a hair braid, tucking and adjusting where necessary. It doesn’t have to perfect, mine certainly wasn’t and it turned out beautifully…
repeat with the other half of the dough, then wash both loaves with an egg wash made of one lightly beaten egg with 2 t water and a pinch of salt, and sprinkle with coarse, sparkling sugar
bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.
I ate one right out of the oven and then carefully wrapped the other and froze it. About two weeks later, a neighbor dropped by and I reheated the other loaf. It was wonderful!
Most excellent….
xxoo,
RMW
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Tags: BreakfastPosted in She Cooks, She Loves | 14 Comments »
March 15th, 2013 at 6:31 am
That looks so yummy!
March 15th, 2013 at 7:56 am
Is love their flour. All the varieties. And they so often have specials on shipping!
March 15th, 2013 at 9:14 am
I wish I were a better baker. Maybe this flour would help me! (Although my mom seems to get perfect results with whatever flour is handy.)
=)
March 15th, 2013 at 1:18 pm
Its got my favorite ingredient that I found on your site, lemon curd. That really looks yummy. I would have to freeze it or be guilty of eating it all.
March 15th, 2013 at 1:52 pm
I’ve read a lot about King Arthur Flour from my adopted mum Barbara from Barbara Bakes! I wish we could get it here!
March 15th, 2013 at 2:42 pm
That DOES look most excellent! I have never attempted a braided bread, but I’m feeling braver after seeing this!
March 15th, 2013 at 6:57 pm
Never have I wanted to be your neighbor more than right at this moment. lol
Darn does that look delicious!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend
Love
Maggie
March 16th, 2013 at 7:13 am
This looks delicious ! Perfect with a good coffee.
March 19th, 2013 at 8:52 am
Yum1 This recipes looks and sounds amazing!
March 19th, 2013 at 6:21 pm
I wish I had a dough hook and a mixer! I use King Athur flour to make bread. I just discovered almond flour the other day and loved it!
March 20th, 2013 at 4:43 am
that looks delicious <3 lemon and bread anything, mmm!
March 21st, 2013 at 2:34 pm
Nice recipe and this is not the first time I’ve seen this flour mentioned but alas not in my local grocery store in Western PA…
March 21st, 2013 at 10:42 pm
I’m hungry for some of that wonderful bread!
March 24th, 2013 at 8:24 am
Love King Arthur Flour too. In fact, I’m hosting a giveaway from them tomorrow. I’m sure I’d love a slice or two of your sweet bread too.