Recipe Calendar (November)

Hi everyone,

It's been a very busy few weeks around here. November and December are my busiest months in the year. Our recipe for this month is Spiced Swirls. They are so yummy and can be eaten at any point in the day.

Ingredients:

For the Spiced Dough:

500g Strong White Bread Flour

1 x 7g sachet Fast-Action Dried Yeast

1 tsp Table Salt

2 tsp Caster Sugar

250ml Milk

50g Unsalted Butter

1 Medium Egg at Room Temperature

75g Raisins

For the filling: 65g Light Brown Muscovado Sugar

1tsp Ground Cinnamon

1tsp Nutmeg

1tsp Strong Bread Flour or Plain Flour

Method:

Note: You can make the dough a day ahead by proving the dough once. Leave the second prove for the day you will be making the spiced swirls.

1. To make the dough, put the flour, yeast, salt and sugar into a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.

2. In a pan, gently warm the milk with the butter until combined (be sure not to overheat it or the mixture may curdle) and let it cool until luke warm. Add the egg and combine with a fork.

3. Add the milky mixture a little bit at a time and work it into the dough. If you find the dough too sticky add a little bit more flour. If you find the dough to be a bit dry add more of the milky liquid.

4. Once you've made/formed the dough, knead it onto a floured surface for about 8 minutes until the dough is pliable and stretchy. Scatter the raisins over the dough and gently knead for about 2 minutes until combined.

5. Spread a little bit of oil into a bowl, add the dough, cover in cling film and prove for about 1 hour in an area at room temperature. If preparing ahead do stop at this point and resume the following day.

6. Once the dough has risen, punch the down down to deflate it before turning it out onto a lightly floured surface. Flour your fingers and gently work the dough into a rectangle (being careful not to knead it). Cover it lightly with a sheet of cling film and leave it to rest for 5 minutes- this will make it easier to roll out.

7. Meanwhile for the filling, mix together the sugar, flour and spice(s) in a small bowl. Flour a rolling pin, then roll out the dough into a bigger, thinner rectangle about 1.2cm thick. Brush the dough evenly with milk, then using the back of a teaspoon spread the filling evenly over the damp surface, leaving a gap on each side (to avoid the filling spilling out too much).

8. Roll up the dough like a Swiss roll and pinch the ends together to seal. With a sharp knife, cut or slice the dough into the shapes you want. I did swirls so I cut about 14 rounds around 1cm thick. If you are making a loaf, you can use either a flat baking sheet or a loaf tin. If you are making rolls or swirls you can use a flat baking sheet.

9. Once you have decided, loosely cover the sheet or tin with cling film and leave to prove in a room temperature area for 1 hour or until doubled in size. 10 minutes before the proving time ends, heat your oven to 180°C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Uncover the spiced swirls and brush the tops gently with some milk using a pastry brush to give them a shiny finish.

10. Bake the spiced swirls for 20 minutes or until golden brown. If you are making a load then bake for 25-35 minutes (check after 25 minutes as it depends on your oven) or until golden brown and check the bottom to see if it's hollow. For the spiced swirls, you can drizzle a little bit of runny icing to add some sweetness. For the loaf, you can toast it and spread some butter on it.

    
    

    Enjoy!

    
    

    Lily xxxx