Sooo... I was so excited to get started on this that I went to the grocery store at 8 pm on a FRIDAY night after hours - yeah, hours - of looking through the cookbooks and deciding what I wanted to cook first.
I decided that the April issue of the Cook's Illustrated magazine (my first one!) was easier to tackle than two giant cook books with over 1000 recipes each. I also decided that since I was going to do this Friday night (late late into the night, as it turned out), I might as well make something that one could eat for breakfast. Cinnamon swirl bread was perfect because everyone likes it and I could wrap the bread over night.
I was also excited about this recipe because it allowed me to use my Mixer's dough hook!! I had no idea what the dough hook apparatus was when I first bought my Cuisineart standing mixer (I know, a travesty), but in this recipe, it was mandatory!
After I went shopping for all the ingredients (grocery shopping in New York, more precisely Brooklyn, on a Friday night was so peaceful I think I'm going to make it a permanent habit. No one was out and I didn't have to elbow anyone or hop over any strollers to get my produce. Lovely), I got myself settled and started getting down to business.
Firstly, I had to cut a stick of butter into 32 pieces and then coat it with flour. The flour would allow the butter to easily combine with the mixed dough when it was integrated later (and this worked perfectly):
Next, I had to mix dry ingredients together before putting them in the mixer, adding wet ingredients, and letting the dough hook to go to work.
After that, I had to add salt and then the butter, a few pieces at a time. The dough was super sticky, but this is supposed to be perfectly normal and one should avoid the temptation to add flour. However, there was one direction I didn't fully understand. It said to mix the dough until it was elastic, smooth and "clears the side of the bowl." Well, I'm not exactly sure what that means. I was trying to google on my iphone as it was happening, but the time was running out on my phone and I started to just assume it did "clear the sides" since it touched the sides of the bowl but didn't stick to it. After doing some research, particuarly after reading this feed about bread baking here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/25037/using-kitchen-aid-standmixer-make-bread-having-problems-need-advice , I beileve I confirmed my suspicions about "clearing the bowl."
Anyway, things were going fine, I added my raisins, then I had to put it in the oven above a cake pan of boiling water (to keep the dough moist as it rises) for 45 minutes... what, 45 minutes?!
I guess I got started with this process a little too late. (Part of the reason was I forgot to buy plastic wrap and the recipe called for it and I figured aluminum foil was not a good substitute. I had to get redressed out of my pajamas and go to two different bodegas to get my plastic wrap. Oh, woe is me). I then skimmed through the recipe and realized there were THREE... yes, THREE intervals of 45 minutes where I would be waiting for dough to rise. Since it was now approaching 10 o'clock, I had already started, and I was determined to get it done, I realized that it was going to be a long night.
So, the first forty-five minutes went well. I took it out, kneaded it again, and put it back. Then I made the cinnamon sugar filling (I'm omitting details of the recipe because that's not exactly the point) and, eventually, took the dough out again.
This is where the problems started. It looked good enough:
but this is where the problems started. I was supposed to roll the dough out to very specific inch stipulations (I don't have measuring things but improvised with my 81/2 inch loaf pan) and then I was supposed to spray the dough with my spritzer bottle of water. This is when I realized that though I had read the recipe through a few days ago, I forgot that I needed a spritzing bottle and I didn't have one. It was at this point that I think things got sloppy. The dough was only supposed to be 1/4 of an inch thick. However, it's thickness varied in different parts of the dough roll out. Then, I had to sloppily throw water onto the dough. This bothered me. Then I had to slather on the cinnamon sugar filling. Then I was supposed to "spritz" it again. I improvised again. I must have done the slathering and improvising sloppily because when I rolled it into a "tight cylinder," cinnamon filling was oozing out of it and I couldn't really pinch the dough together to cover it up: 
On the second loaf (the recipe makes two), I thought I would get it down and correct my mistakes, which I sort of did, until I rolled it up and then realized I totally forgot to "spritz" the water on the filling. So what is a girl to do who's trying to follow the letter of the law and is panicking because she cannot? Open up the 'loaf" again, spread cinnamon sticky gook all over your countertop accidentally, losing important cinnamon on the one decent loaf you actually have because it's sticking to the marble, and then "spritz" more water with your clumsy benediction onto the dough. That's what I did. This one looked slightly better, with some smudges:
Then, came the slicing it open and braiding the bread into something pretty, all while keeping the cut side open. That was .... umm, difficult, to say the least. It was spilling out again. I then stuffed it into a loaf pan and it looked like an explosion:
After I revisited it after its rising for another 45 minutes, I realized that I made a very substantial mistake (so it seems). I reailzed that I had incorporated an egg into the cinnamon bread filling when it was actually supposed to be dry! The egg was for an egg wash to be brushed on to the bread at THIS point... oh great. Also, the oven was supposed to be heating for 45 minutes while the bread was rising, something I didn't do. So now.... it was too late to undo the egg and too early (ahem) to wait another 45 minutes. So, I put it in the oven (with another egg used for the egg wash) and hoped for the best.
It started to BURN almost immediately (probably because I put extra egg) so I tented the tinfoil and turned the oven down earlier than the recipe stated. Then.... and this was the kicker... I actually fell asleep while the bread was in the oven. I woke up at 3:30, never heard the timer and I just took the bread out. It looked like this:
I was pretty upset that I missed some of the directions, fell asleep and almost burned the bread, but after we cut it, toasted it and put butter on it... well, this empty plate speaks for itself:
It was a hit!
What I learned from my first recipe in this experience, is that I absolutely MUST read the recipe like three times before I begin. I cannot make any assumptions that I have all the equipment I need or I know the timing necessary for the recipe. This bread caused me to stay up hours past my bed time and the results might be disastrous! It is definitely stressful to waste that time and energy if it isn't going to taste good. Luckily, this is a learning experience and, since no one's dinner depends on this baking, I think it'll be okay. I'll check in again soon and hopefully I'll learn how to cut these entries down to fewer words!
FOLLOW UP: Another great idea! My boyfriend used the cinnamon bread to make cinnamon french toast in the morning. AWESOME! It would also be cool to use the leftovers (if there were enough) for some bread pudding.
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