Home Sweet Home and the Smell of Cinnamon

It has never rained like this in May. For three soggy weeks, Northeast Ohioans have felt the belated gifts of April. What some people don't realize about a rainy May is the abundant warmth that accompanies a morning, afternoon, or evening shower. It is wedged somewhere between a cold, damp, bone-chilling April rain and the sure to come hot and humid thunderstorms of June, July and August. These are the rainy days we ought to be grateful for-all the water we need without some of the other more detrimental side effects. I am grateful for this rain, and I am grateful for this day.

The only sound that competes with the pitter-patter of raindrops along the screened sill of my window is the sound of heavy, sugary droplets falling from the edges of a golden brown, crackly pastry onto a heavy metal pan. With a large spoon, in my Mother's kitchen, I poured an orange scented glaze over the warm treat I had pulled from the oven just moments before. I am home now, for awhile, and gratefully so. To commemorate my latest inhabitance to a once empty nest, I made a vast cinnamon concoction for the morning snack my parents delight in on weekend mornings. My father loves cinnamon rolls and I love to make them, so nothing seemed more appropriate. Besides, what else says home like the smells of caramelizing auburn sugar and spicy, exotic cinnamon combined with a wafting breeze of bold and pungent perking coffee making its way through the hallways, in and out of the rooms and up and down the stairs. I sliced the pastry, poured the coffee, and could only hope that my parents knew the love and sincere appreciation that came in every bite of my offering of morning sweets.





Home is Calling Cinnamon Bun Babka
(original recipe can be found on the Food Network Website, by Tyler Florence)

Dough:

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (115-120 degrees)
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup melted margarine, cooled, plus more for brushing
2 large eggs (locally produced)
1 tsp. salt
2 cups hi-gluten bread flour
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 TBS. vegetable oil

Filling:

1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 TBS. cinnamon
1 TBS. grated orange zest
1/2 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Glaze:

1/4 cup water
2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 orange, zested
1 large egg white

1. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of the warm water. Stir in 1/4 tsp. of the sugar and let stand 5-10 minutes, or until foamy.

2. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the remaining water, sugar, melted margarine, eggs, and salt. Add the two cups of bread flour and turn the speed up to medium, mixing until incorporated. Gradually add the two cups of white whole wheat flour and mix until the dough holds together but is very soft.

3. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and dust the top with flour. Knead for five minutes until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if needed. Rub the inside of a large bowl with the oil, put in the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand and room temperature 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.

5. Combine the two brown sugars, cinnamon, orange zest, raisins and pecans. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 10 x 18" rectangle. Brush the dough with melted margarine, then sprinkle on the filling leaving 2 inches along one of the 18" sides. Roll up like a jelly roll, sealing the bottom edge where there was no filling. Holding each end of the roll in each hand, gently twist it like you were wringing out a towel. Then, on a sheet pan lined with greased parchment paper, coil the dough around itself in a swirl, sealing the ends. Brush with more melted margarine.

6. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until very golden and the house smells like cinnamon. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, the transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

7. In a medium size bowl, combine all the glaze ingredients and whisk until smoothy and incorporated. Pour over lightly cooled babka. Slice and serve.


Enjoy!