The Two of a Kind blog is turning two! It’s hard for me to believe … until I take a peek at the earliest entries. Yikes – check out the photography!
To celebrate the mini milestone, I decided to revisit my first post, featuring a honey oat bread recipe. But rather than recreate the loaf to a tee, I dressed it up with a cinnamon swirl and crumb topping. The result? A heavenly and heartwarming baked goody.
2016 got off to a very rocky start, but I am hopeful that things will pick up and life will get better. And no matter what happens, I plan to keep baking, cooking and blogging with Rookie at my side. So stick around – we’d love your company!
Honey Oat Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Makes 1 9"x5" loaf
Ingredients
Dough:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cups rolled oats
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup lukewarm water
- ¼ cup honey
Crumb topping:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Filling:
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
Make the dough:
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, yeast and salt. I always make yeast breads by hand, but you could also mix everything in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- In a separate bowl, warm the milk until it's hot enough to melt the butter - a minute in the microwave should do. Stir in the butter, and then add the water and honey.
- Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, stirring everything until it comes together to form a shaggy ball. Then knead the dough by hand (or with a dough hook attachment) until it's smooth and elastic - this will take about 10 minutes (less if using a stand mixer). If you're making this recipe by hand, the dough may be very sticky at first, so flour your hands and work surface generously. Add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick to your work surface. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let it rise until doubled, 1-2 hours.
Make the crumb topping:
- Melt the butter in a medium bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. Transfer to the freezer.
Make the filling:
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Set aside.
Shape and bake the loaf:
- Grease a 9"x5" loaf pan.
- After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out dough to a 16"x9" rectangle.
- Brush the entire surface with egg wash, leaving a 1" border around the edges. Sprinkle filling in an even layer over the top of the dough. Starting at the short end, tightly roll the dough to make a loaf shape. Pinch the seam and ends to seal and transfer to the prepared pan. Cover the loaf with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours.
- During the last 15 minutes of rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- When the loaf has doubled in size, brush top with remaining egg wash and sprinkle crumb topping over the dough, pressing gently so crumbs adhere.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown.
- Transfer to a wire rack and let it cool completely before slicing and serving.
I just made this today, and the crumb is beautiful. I doubled the amount of cinnamon, but still can hardly taste it, so I’ll add more the next time. I also kneaded dried cherries into the dough, which gives the bread a slight tanginess. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe – and the addition of dried cherries sounds amazing!