Tasty Goodness: Citrus Dessert Bread

Citrus Dessert Bread

As I was searching for bread recipes, I came across the

The Knead for Bread website with a delicious looking Citrus Dessert Bread recipe last month and since it is now baking season I will surely try it and thought you might like to as well.

This citrus dessert bread is filled with the smells and tangy tastes of lemon, lime and orange and can be topped with lemon-flavoured cream cheese icing. You don’t even have to slice it as it peels apart, making it the perfect dessert bread. This recipe makes two loaves.

Citrus Bread
 
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup soft butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 1/2 to 4 cups  bread flour
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp mixed citrus zest
Oil

Filling

1/4 cup mixed citrus zest
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

Topping (optional)

3 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp lemon juice

In a saucepan, combine milk and water and heat to scalding. Pour scalded liquid into a clean large bowl. Add butter and stir till butter is melted. Add sugar and egg. Stir until sugar is melted and mixture cools to lukewarm.

Add 2 cups of the flour and mix till smooth. Add instant yeast and continue to mix till yeast is well blended. Add salt and mixed citrus zest. Mix till well blended.

Sprinkle a little flour onto a work table and turn dough onto flour. Sprinkle more flour on top and knead dough for about 10 minutes, adding more flour as needed. (You want the dough to be a little on the sticky side. If the dough sticks to the surface, use a scraper to release it. The more you knead, the less it will stick.) Once dough becomes smooth and elastic, add a little oil to a clean large bowl and place dough in bowl. Turn over a few times to coat all sides of dough with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for about an hour or till double in bulk.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine grated citrus zest and sugar for filling. Set aside.

Cut dough in half and roll out each half to a piece 16 by 12 inches. If it’s hard to roll, let dough sit for 5 minutes to relax, then continue.

Brush half the melted butter onto rolled-out dough. Sprinkle with half the sugar-zest mixture. Spread with your fingertips.

With a sharp knife, cut dough into 3 equal pieces. Stack pieces on top of each other. Cut dough with a sharp knife into 2-inch pieces. Place slices into a lightly greased 4 1/2-by-8-inch small loaf pan. Spread pieces out so they go the length of the pan.

Repeat with other piece of dough and make a second loaf. Cover pans with plastic wrap and let rest until dough has doubled in size.

Heat oven to 375 F and bake loaves for about 25 minutes. A thermometer should read 180 F when placed into the center of loaves. Leave baked loaves sitting in pans for about 1 minute before turning them over and removing from pans. Let cool on a wire rack.

Topping (optional): In a bowl, mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk and lemon juice till smooth. Spread over cooled loaves.

Makes 2 loaves.