Kneadlessly Simple: Fabulous, Fuss-Free, No-Knead Breads (33 page)
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Authors: Nancy Baggett
Tags: #Cooking
KS Quotient
Fairly Easy: Simple ingredients; easy mixing; make-ahead option. No hand-shaping.
This coffeecake truly is simplicity itself, yet it has a lovely buttery taste and texture that will ensure your reputation as a talented baker. The outside is wonderfully crisp-tender and strewn with a crunchy, nut-accented sugar-cinnamon streusel. The inside is moist, soft, and studded with more little nuggets of streusel. It is great warm from the oven, especially for breakfast, brunch, or a coffee klatch. The coffeecake can be baked and served in a flat 9 x 15-inch baking pan, or, for a fancier presentation, baked in an angel food pan, then lifted off and plated attractively.
The recipe is super-convenient because the streusel can be made well in advance and used to jazz up a coffeecake as needed. Better yet, the coffeecake can be completely assembled and refrigerated for up to 36 hours. By planning ahead, you can remove it from the refrigerator to warm up and rise (allow for a 4½- to 5-hour regular rise, or a 3- to 3½-hour accelerated rise) and time the baking to have a fresh, warm coffeecake coming from the oven just when you need it.
Don't forget that this recipe starts with a batch of
All-Purpose Enriched Sweet Dough
. All the first- and second-stage ingredients should be already incorporated into the dough when the following preparations begin.
Yield: 1 large coffeecake,12 to 15 portions or slices
1 batch
Make-Ahead Streusel
, prepared as directed (if just made, it should be refrigerated until firmed up slightly; if made ahead, it should be set out until warmed up just slightly but still firm)
1 batch
All-Purpose Enriched Sweet Dough
, prepared as directed (adding the eggs, butter, etc., and maximum amount of sugar called for, then proceeding with preparing the coffeecake as follows)
Second Rise
Stir a generous half of the streusel into the batch of dough. For a shaped, round coffeecake, turn out the dough into a well-oiled or nonstick spray—coated 8- to 12-quart angel food pan. For a rectangular coffeecake, turn out the dough in a well-oiled 9 x 13-inch flat baking dish. Spread the dough out evenly using an oiled rubber spatula. Sprinkle the remaining streusel evenly over the dough. Cover the pan or baking dish with nonstick spray—coated plastic wrap.
Let Rise Using Any of These Methods
For a 2- to 3-hour regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature; for a 1½- to 2½-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling-hot water; or for an extended rise, refrigerate for 4 to 36 hours, then set out at room temperature. If the dough nears the plastic wrap, remove it and continue the rise until the dough has doubled from its deflated size.
Baking Preliminaries
15 minutes before baking time, place a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350°F.
Baking
Bake on the lower rack for 30 to 40 minutes for the rectangular coffeecake or 40 to 50 minutes for the ring-shaped coffeecake, until the top is nicely browned and a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with only a few particles at the bottom end (or the center registers 205° to 207°F on an instant-read thermometer). If necessary, cover with foil for the last 15 to 20 minutes to prevent over-browning. Then bake for another 5 to 10 minutes to ensure the center is done. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. If baked in an angel food pan, run a knife around the center tube and sides to loosen the loaf, then lift it up and onto the rack.
Serving and StoringServe the rectangular cake from its pan; serve the round version on a cake plate. The coffeecake slices best when cool, but is delicious warm. Cool completely before storing airtight in plastic or foil; or store the round coffeecake in a cake keeper. Keeps at room temperature for up to 3 days, and may be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months.
KS Quotient
Fairly Easy: Two-stage mixing. No hand-shaping.
This is my reworking of an old English bread that has been popular in various similar forms since the 1700s. An 1810 recipe featured in Elizabeth David's classic work,
English Bread and Yeast Cookery,
was titled "To Make the Famous Saffron Cake." It is not a cake as we use the term today, but rather, a highly aromatic, slightly sweet bread. The saffron gives the loaf a beautiful golden yellow color, and here and there small flecks of it, as well as golden raisins, brighten the soft crumb even more. Some versions of this bread call for other spices as well, but saffron has such a heady, complex aroma and taste I think it's better solo. On the other hand, I do think lemon zest is a worthy addition because it actually intensifies the taste of the spice and adds a subtle, enticing zing.
It's fine to bake this in a loaf pan, but since saffron is rare and pricey, I like to show the bread off by using a Bundt, kugelhopf, or other decorative tube pan. Note that due to the open area provided by the tube, the loaf will be done a little sooner.
Remember to have a batch of
All-Purpose Enriched Sweet Dough
with the eggs, butter, and milk powder incorporated as indicated in the original directions and ready for its final rise when beginning this recipe.
Yield: 1 large loaf, 12 to 14 portions or slices
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 to ¼ teaspoon saffron threads, to taste
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 recipe
All-Purpose Enriched Sweet Dough
, ready for the second rise
1 cup golden raisins, rinsed under hot water, drained well, and patted dry
About 1/3 cup (1.66 ounces) unbleached all-purpose white flour, or as needed
Second Rise
Grind the sugar and saffron together using a mortar and pestle (or using a coffee mill dedicated to grinding spices) until the saffron is mostly powdery, but has some fine bits remaining. (Alternatively, mash the mixture with the back of a spoon, or grind in a food processor until the saffron is fairly fine but not completely powdery.) Vigorously stir the saffron mixture and lemon zest into the dough until thoroughly and evenly incorporated. Fold in the raisins and enough flour to yield a stiff, but still stirrable, dough.
Turn out the dough into a well-oiled 9 x 5-inch or similar large loaf pan or in an 8- to 10-cup Bundt-style pan. Evenly brush or spray the top lightly with oil. Spread the dough out and pat down evenly using an oiled rubber spatula. Cover the pan with nonstick spray—coated plastic wrap.
Let Rise Using Any of These Methods
For a 1½- to 3-hour regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature; for a 1- to 2½-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling-hot water; or for an extended rise, refrigerate for 4 to 48 hours, then set out at room temperature. If the dough nears the plastic wrap, remove it and continue the rise until the dough extends 1/8 inch above the rim if using a loaf pan or 8-cup tube pan, and ¾ inch below the rim if using a10-cup Bundt- style pan.
Baking Preliminaries
15 minutes before baking time, place a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350°F.
Baking
Bake on the lower rack for 30 to 40 minutes, until the top is nicely browned. Cover with foil and bake for 10 to 20 minutes longer or until a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with only a few particles at the end (or the thickest part registers 205° to 207°F on an instant-read thermometer). Then bake for another 5 to 10 minutes to ensure the center is baked through. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove the loaf to the rack; cool thoroughly.
Serving and StoringThe loaf slices best when cool. It is good at room temperature or toasted. Cool completely before storing airtight in plastic; or store the round loaf in a cake keeper if desired. The bread will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days, and may be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months.
