Cinnamon Crumb Surprise

A couple of weeks ago, I  got a cooking lesson from a friend's chef friend. I was super exciting to get to see how a chef functions in the kitchen.  A real life one albeit too?  Stand aside Rachael Ray...  :) Anyways, it was dinner party in which we all contribute some money to buy the food and then help cook the food with the chef. How cool is that?  My friend who invited me to this awesome party asked me to bring a dessert.  Often what I make lately is highly dependent upon what I have lying around.  I had all of the ingredients for this recipe lying around...so Cinnamon Crumb Surprise it was!  I found this recipe in one of the books I checked out from Houston's Central Public library, which is by the way one of my favorite places EVER now.  So many books to see...I had to eventually stop because my hands were filled to MAXIMUM capacity.  I had heard good things about Rose Levy Beranbaum.  This recipe comes to you straight from her Bread Bible.  Woo Hoo!!!

 ** (Please excuse the contorted edge of the bread in this picture. I accidently dropped part of this bread on the ground when I was moving it on the cooling rack! Still good though!)**

              

From Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Bread Bible

Crumb Topping and Filling

Ingredients
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cups walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsifted cake flour
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F 30 minutes before baking. Have an oven shelf at the middle.
2.Make the crumb mixture. In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the sugars, nuts and cinnamon until the nuts are coarsely chopped. Reserve 1/2 cup for the filling. Add the flour, butter, and vanilla to the remainder and pulse briefly just until the butter is absorbed. Empty it into a bowl and refrigerate for about 20 minutes to firm up, then use your fingertips to form a coarse, crumbly mixture for the topping.


Apple Filling and Butter


Ingredients
1 small tart apple
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 plus 1/16 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3. Prepare the filling and mix the batter. Just before mixing the batter, peel and core the apple. Cut into 1/4 inch thick slices, and toss with the lemon juice.

In a medium bowl, lightly combine the egg, the yolks, about one fourth of the sour cream, and the vanilla.

In a mixer bowl, or other large bowl, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low speed (#2 if using a Kitchen Aid, with the paddle attachment) for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and the remaining sour cream and mix until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the speed to medium if using a stand mixer (#4 KitchenAid), or high speed if using a hand-held mixer, and beat for 1 minute to aerate and develop the structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gradually add the egg mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides.

4. Fill the pan. Scrape about two-thirds of the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the surface. Sprinkle with the reserved 1/2 cup crumb mixture and top with the apple slices, arranging them in two rows of overlapping slices. Drop the reserved batter in large blobs over the fruit and spread it evenly, preferable with a small offset spatula. (The batter will be 3/4 inch from the top of the pan.) Sprinkle with the crumb topping.

5. Bake the bread. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the bread springs back when pressed lightly in the center. Tent loosely with buttered foil after 45 minutes to prevent overbrowning.

6. Cool the bread. Remove the bread from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Place a folded kitchen towel on top of a flat plate and cover it with plastic wrap. Oil the plastic wrap. Loosen the sides of the bread with a small metal spatula, and invert in onto the plate. Grease a wire rack and reinvert the bread onto it, so that it is right side up. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours, before wrapping airtight.

I have decided that I need to include a more educational section to this blog.  To do this, I will include learning issues to each of these posts when I get the chance.  With an extensive background in science, I am trying to make sense out of why things work baking and cooking.  So as you can imagine, most of the learning issues will deal with the why.  Why do certain ingredients create such interesting phenomenon and tastes?  Today's topic is baking soda vs baking powder.  Can I substitute?  I have had this burning question for a while now.  It gnaws at the bottom of my stomach. ;)  Still after years of baking, I am amazed how desserts rise and change in the oven.

Baking soda aka pure sodium bicarbonate reacts with other components of the mixture to release carbon dioxide and then helps the dough rise.  Baking powder consists of sodium bicarbonate, cream of tarter (an acidfying agent), and a drying agent (most often starch).  In order to use baking soda, it must be combined with an acidic ingredient like yogurt, chocolate, buttermilk or honey.  The reaction between baking soda and the acidic ingredient produces carbon dioxide that expands in oven temperature.  The carbon dioxide is produced immediately upon mixing therefore baking soda only recipes need to be placed in the oven ASAP.  Otherwise, you will create a baked good that does not rise.  Baking powder, on the other hand, does not depend on the ingredients within your recipe to create an leavening effect.  The powder comes in two forms--> single acting powders and double acting powders.  Go ahead, run to your kitchen now.  Check out which form you have stocked in your pantry.  I found double acting powder listed under my store brand baking powder.  Crazy eh?  I never noticed this.  A single acting baking powder is activated by moisture alone...so CO2 bubbles start immediately and the baked good must be baked immediately.  However, double acting powders are a bit more forgiving when it comes to time.  Some gas is released at room temperature when the powder is mixed into your recipe, but the majority is released upon baking the of the dough. (About.com Baking Powder vs Baking Soda)

Okay, so after all of this...how do you decide whether to use powder or soda?  It depends on the ingredients of the recipe.  Baking soda is often found in cookie recipes and shouldn't be used in other recipes unless countered by an acidic ingredient.  Baking powder on the other hand is more neutral and is combined with ingredients like milk.  It can always substitute for baking soda, but baking soda can't substitute for baking powder.  But in a pinch you can always make your own baking powder by mixing two parts cream of tarter with one part baking soda.

Informative enough?  Tired of reading?

This Cinnamon Crumb Surprise Bread disappeared before my eyes at the party.  Everyone had positive things to say about the recipe at the party.  I think the bread was good, but I am critical of my recipes as you know.  I give this recipe 3.5 out of 5 stars.  The bread was an excellent moisture and I loved the cinnamon crumb topping.  People could simply just eat the topping and be happy.  The topping is also versatile and could potentially be used in other recipes.  However the taste of the bread itself was a little plain.  Where are the firework's Rose?  The crumb was awesome but fireworks Rose, fireworks.  People were also surprised by the apple in the bread which was soft and tart as expected.  Overall, decent recipe but will probably not make again any time soon especially considering the amount of time and effort this recipe required.