Bread Machine (189 page)
To make the dough, place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions, adding the nuts with the dry ingredients. Set crust on medium and program for the Sweet Bread cycle; press Start. (This recipe is not suitable for use with the Delay Timer.)
When the baking cycle ends, remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack with a sheet of parchment paper or a large plate underneath.
To make the icing, combine the icing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Adjust the consistency by adding more milk, a few drops at a time. Using an oversized spoon, drizzle or pour in a back and forth motion over the top of the loaf. As the glaze cools, it will set up.
2-POUND LOAF
For the nuts:
2 cups water
3 tablespoons baking soda
3 ounces whole hazelnuts (
3
/
4
cup)
For the dough:
1
1
/
4
cups milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3
3
/
4
cups bread flour
1
/
2
cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon gluten
1
1
/
2
teaspoons salt
1
1
/
4
teaspoons ground cinnamon
2
1
/
2
teaspoons SAF yeast or 1 tablespoon bread machine yeast
For the amaretto icing:
1
/
2
cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
1
1
/
4
tablespoons amaretto liqueur
1 to 2 teaspoons hot milk
I
love baking for Christmas and Easter, having lots of good homemade bread around is just part of all the festivities. I Brisk weather is balanced by the warm aromas emanating from the kitchen. Early spring warmth and color are enhanced by a golden loaf of fresh bread resting on a piece of lace. This is an unspoken language that translates into comfort and nurturing. Distinctly flavored holiday sweet breads are dramatic looking and well loved, preferred by many over the heavier desserts and cakes of the season.
In many cases, particular breads commemorate specific holidays. In the recipes that follow, I have tried to retain them in their most traditional forms, keeping the techniques as authentic as possible, but adapting them for the bread machine with great success. Many of these rich doughs have a reputation for being notoriously time-consuming, but the bread machine makes them a lighter task by far.
I remember every gathering or event where I first viewed or tasted one of these breads: an Orthodox Russian Easter brunch where the outdoor buffet table was dominated by the towering
kulich
, the window of an Italian bakery filled with mushroom-shaped domes of
gran panettone
bread with raisins poking out of the crusts, a baking class I took decades ago from master baker Diane Dexter where I made my first orange-flavored
pompe de noël
, Viennese
streisel
, and Swiss
birnenwecken
.
There are no secret techniques—available only to sophisticated bakers—required to produce these loaves. Careful attention to measuring and to the details, as well as adding the fruits and nuts at the time outlined in the recipe, will ensure that a baking masterpiece is well within reach for any baker.
I
love waking up on Easter morning and having a beautiful loaf of sweet bread waiting to be eaten. Hungarian bakers are known for their sweet breads and strudels and, of course, for the sour cream in their doughs. This coffee bread would normally be made in a kugelhopf or bundt pan, but I just make it in the bread machine and give it a nice lemon icing. Serve it within twenty-four hours of baking.
For the lemon icing:
3
/
4
cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or syrup from the lemon confit1 to
1
1
/
2
tablespoons warm milk
1 teaspoon soft butter
1
1
/
2
- OR 2-POUND-LOAF MACHINES
For the dough:
3
/
4
cup sour cream, at room temperature
1
/
3
cup buttermilk
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1
1
/
2
teaspoons vanilla extract
1
/
2
teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, cut into pieces and softened
3 cups bread flour
1
/
4
cup sugar
1
1
/
2
teaspoons salt
2
1
/
2
teaspoons SAF yeast or 1 tablespoon bread machine yeast
1
/
3
cup golden raisins
1
/
3
cup diced
lemon confit
or
candied lemon peel
1
/
4
cup pecan pieces
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
To make the dough, place the dough ingredients, except the raisins, lemon peel, and pecans, in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Set crust on medium and program for the Sweet Bread cycle; press Start. (This recipe is not suitable for use with the Delay Timer.) Sprinkle the fruit and nuts with the tablespoon of flour. When the machine beeps, or between Knead 1 and Knead 2, add the raisins, lemon peel, and nuts. The dough ball will look dry at first and take about 7 minutes to smooth out. It will still be moist.
To make the icing, combine the icing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Adjust the consistency by adding more milk, a few drops at a time. I like this quite thick, but still pourable.