100% Whole Wheat Cinnamon Swirl Bread | Avid Bakers Challenge

This whole wheat cinnamon swirl bread is supposed to have a symmetrical coil of cinnamon filling. It looks like mine kind of went rogue. I believe this cinnamon swirl "incident" is the result of how I tucked the side of the bread into itself. I'm sure the swirl is perfect in the middle of the bread. I just haven't gotten there yet. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Maybe I should call it cinnamon squiggle bread!

This loaf is made with white whole wheat. "What is that?" you ask. It is a strain of whole wheat that has all of the nutritional value of regular whole wheat, but has a lighter color and a milder taste. It is milled from the whole berry, and nothing is removed. You cannot use it as you would all purpose flour, but you can introduce it into your cookies, breads, and other baked goods with some adjustment to the liquids.

If you don't have white whole wheat flour available, regular whole wheat flour works just fine.

You might also notice that this bread calls for orange juice as one of the liquids. Believe it or not, you will not detect any orange flavor. The orange juice is there to "mellow" any bitterness from the whole wheat flour. This is especially helpful when using regular whole wheat.

The Avid Bakers are making this bread for April. Check out the Avid Bakers Challenge website to see how the rest of the bakers in our groups fared with this bread. I'm seeing a lot of symmetrical swirls over there....

100% Whole Wheat Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe

Ingredients

Starter

4 ounces water

4 ounces white whole wheat flour (or regular whole wheat flour)

1/8 tsp instant yeast

Dough

2 1/2 tsp instant yeast

4 ounces lukewarm milk

4 ounces orange juice 

2 1/2 ounces melted butter

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 ounces (3 T) sugar

1 ounce dry milk (I used King Arthur Flour's Baker's Special Dry Milk)

1 5/8 ounces potato flour or potato flakes

11 ounces white or regular whole wheat flour

Filling

1 egg, beaten

2 2/3 ounces (1/3 C) sugar

1/4 ounce (2 tsp) ground cinnamon

3/8 ounces (1 T) all purpose flour

Instructions

1. The night before, mix the starter ingredients in a small bowl or container until thoroughly moistened, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to sit out at room temperature overnight. It should be quite puffy the next day.
2. Add all of the dough ingredients, including the starter, to the bowl of a stand mixer, and knead on low for about 7 minutes. You can also knead by hand or bread machine. If the dough seems a bit dry, add a tablespoon or two of orange juice. 
3. Place the dough into an oiled bowl or dough rising bucket, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 90 minutes, until puffy (it may not double in size).
4. Lightly oil your counter or a Silpat, and gently deflate the dough and roll out to a 9 inch by 16 inch rectangle. 
5. Mix the sugar, cinnamon, and flour for the cinnamon swirl.
6. Brush the dough with the egg (you won't use all of it) and sprinkle with the cinnamon mixture. 
7. From the short end of the rectangle, roll the dough into a log and pinch the seam and the ends closed. Place the log in an oiled 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan. 
8. Cover the loaf with oiled plastic wrap and allow to rise until it has crested the pan by 3/4", approximately 90 minutes. 
9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
10. Bake the loaf for 50 to 55 minutes, tenting it lightly with foil at the 10 minute mark. The loaf is done when the interior reaches 190 degrees F with an instant read thermometer. 
11. Turn the dough out onto a rack and cool completely before slicing. 

Recipe from King Arthur Flour. Their swirl is perfect.