Bread Machine (176 page)

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons honey

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/
₂
teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons granulated or pearl sugar, for sprinkling

To make the dough, place all the dough ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Program for the Dough cycle; press Start.

To prepare the filling, combine the apples with the lemon juice, honey, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Toss to coat evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until filling the dough. Drain before using.

When the machine beeps at the end of the cycle, press Stop and unplug the machine. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide it into 3 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 12-by-3-inch rectangle. Brush with some melted butter and place
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of the filling down the center of each strip. Starting from a long edge, roll up each rectangle jelly-roll fashion, and pinch the seam to seal.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the 3 ropes parallel to each other and begin braiding, alternating the outside ropes over the center. Place the challah on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with sugar and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Fifteen minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a rack.

The Baker’s Glossary of Sugars and Other Sweeteners

Sugar has been a coveted ingredient for centuries. Sugarcane is native to the South Pacific island of New Guinea, from there it spread to India, and then to the Middle East with the mariner spice trade. The ever ingenious Arabian apothecaries were the first to refine sugar in 700
A.D.
It was then shipped to Venice, and the wealthy and the royal had an alternative sweetener to honey. It became an important ingredient in chocolate and coffee drinks in the coffeehouse explosion of the 1600s and has been popular ever since.

Ordinary sugar is pure sucrose and is the most common sweetener in baking. It is soluble in water (but insoluble in alcohol, so it makes a nice crystallized layer of glaze when mixed with some tasty liqueur), enhances other flavors, and gives a rich dark golden brown color from caramelization. Sugar competes with starch and gluten for moisture in flour and relaxes gluten, so the crumb is finer. This is why you get a moist, tender, delicately flavored loaf. Sugar also helps keep a loaf fresh. The type of sugar you use will add to the flavor of your bread. Here is a list to help you distinguish among the types available.

Granulated sugar
refers to ordinary white sugar and the standard-size sugar crystal. When I call for sugar in an ingredient list, this is the sugar I mean. Use it in syrups and breads with lots of liquid. It can be made from sugarcane or beets. Bacteria cannot grow in sugar, so it is commonly used in preserving.

Superfine sugar
is sold in 1-pound boxes and has the smallest crystal of any sugar. It is known as castor sugar in England. Some bakers use this as their all-purpose sugar because it dissolves so quickly (you can use it in breads), especially in whipped cream and cold sauces.

Confectioners’ or powdered sugar
is milled granulated sugar with some cornstarch added. It dissolves really fast (you can see that when you make an icing and add only a few teaspoons of liquid; it seems to dissolve instantly). It is a favorite for dusting breads.

Crystal or decorating sugar
(also called pearl sugar) has the largest crystals and gives a sparkling, jewel-like finish to breads. It comes in its natural color and different colors as well; the crystals look like little bits of glass, they are so pretty. Decorative sugar is a great touch for finishing holiday breads.

Sanding sugar
is sized between regular granulated and crystal sugar. It is also good for decorating breads.

Sugar cubes, or lump sugar
, is a combination of different-size granulated sugars compressed into little blocks. It can be made from brown or white sugar. I love to crush these and add them to bread. (See
Dutch Sugar Loaf
.) I especially like Ala Perruche brand cubes made from African sugarcane and imported from France; they are less refined.

Brown sugar
is either light or dark, depending on how much molasses has been added back into the granulated sugar. Obviously, dark brown sugar will have a more pronounced molasses flavor. I favor the Dark Muscovado sugar from African sugarcane distributed under the India Tree brand. Brown sugar can be used cup for cup in place of granulated sugar.

Turbinado and Demerara sugars
, from Mauritius and Guyana, are partially refined with 15 percent of the molasses left in. They are coarsely crystallized (Demerara is slightly larger and is found in the raw sugar packets in restaurants) and essentially the same as the C & H raw sugar in the supermarket. Many bakers use this instead of regular granulated sugar. You can use it like light brown sugar.

Maple sugar
is crystallized maple syrup. It is a regional favorite in New England, a great flavor enhancer in both white and whole wheat breads. It can be substituted cup for cup for other granulated sugars.

Fructose
is found in ripe fruits and honey, but made from cornstarch. It has double the sweetness and is more soluble in water than sucrose, regular granulated sugar. It has the same sweetening power as granulated sugar in baking.

Molasses
is the brown syrup that is left after refining granulated sugar. Light molasses, Barbados, is from the first extraction and has a lovely sweet flavor; dark is from later ones and is much stronger. Blackstrap is from the final extraction; I don’t use it in breads because it is bitter and heavy with ash. If your bottle just says molasses, it is probably between light and dark. Sorghum molasses is a regional sweetener, which comes from a grass, found mainly in the South.