Orange Marmalade Loaf

For my last week at my rotation in SA, I decided to make this Orange Marmalade Bread from the book, Making Fresh Bread from Love foods. The picture in the book of this bread looked delish. Plus, I figured with all of the awesomeness from the last bread (the Cinnamon Raisin one) that I would continue the trend. Enjoy!





Ingredients
4 cups white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp superfine sugar
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2/3 cup lukewarm water
2/3 cup lukewarm milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for brushing
7 tbsp orange marmalade

Topping
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp superfine sugar
1-2 tbsp candied orange peel

Directions (Makes 1 loaf)

1) Sift the flour and salt together into a bowl and stir in the sugar and yeast. Make a well in the center and pour in the lukewarm water and milk. Stir well with a wooden spoon until the dough begins to come together, then knead with your hands for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

2) Brush a bowl with oil. Shape the dough into a ball, put it into the bowl, and put the bowl into a plastic bag or cover with a damp dish towel. Let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until the dough has doubled in volume.

3) Brush a 7.5 x 4.5 x 3.5 inch or 19 x12 x 9 cm loaf pan with oil. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured counter and punch down with your fist. Roll out to a rectangle about 3/4 inch thick. Spread the marmalade evenly over the dough leaving a 1/2 inch border along one long side. Roll up the dough like a jelly roll and put it into the prepared pan, seam side down. Put the pan in a plastic bag or cover with a damp dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.

4) Preheat the oven to 425 F. To mae the topping, beat the egg yolk with milk and sugar in a bowl and brush it over the top of the loaf. Score the top and sprinkle with the orange peel. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Overall, this bread was not to my taste and I do not anticipate making it again. I give it 2 out of 5 stars. People at work enjoyed it but it basically tasted like plain bread with marmalade inside of it. If you are a huge marmalade lover...you may love this recipe and you can disregard my comments about this recipe. This may be the bread for you. However apparently, I don't like marmalade that much. It is too sweet and orangey. (I know it isn't a word but it should be.) In addition, the bread itself tasted like a plain white bread. It was nothing special. A plain white bread after all of the waiting and work.....so not worth it. I had to wait over two hours for this bread to rise. Mind you, I watched TV and ran during this time and was not lacking in entertainment. But the bread did stop me from going out on the town. My last note about this bread is that maybe it would have been better if I had access to the candied orange peel that this recipe calls for. I was unable to find this ingredient at the store and thus decided to make the recipe without it.