peanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl breadpeanut butter & strawberry jam swirl bread

The BIG RETURN … By now, you’ve already accepted it or have been forced to accept it because you no longer have the choice. Back to school for the younger ones (kindergarten, elementary, high school, university) and back to work for us older ones (office work, house work or taking care of your crazy family) . . .  ACCEPT IT NOW AND GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE !

Repeat after me : IT’S OK, IT’S OK, IT’S OK, IT’S OOOOOOO-KKKKKKK ! (come on, get it out of your system).

Peanut butter & jam (or jelly) on sliced white bread … The easy, sweet and north american inspired alternative to preparing a complicated breakfast or lunch or even dinner (especially if you’re a student living far away from home in a university residence or in a small and/or shared student apartment).

I’ve always cringed at the idea of peanut butter & jam … This creamy sticky feeling in your mouth on soft bread that sticks to the roof of your mouth …  it sends CHILLS up and down my SPINE and actually GROSSES me out (but that’s just me) !

And yet, the idea of this sticky, sweet, fruity & slightly salty, nutty, buttery mix, safely pre-sandwiched and insulated between swirls of cooked brioche-style sweet bread, creating a safe barrier between your taste buds and inner mouth surfaces, reassures and pleases me. It also means the elimination of those first few early morning  steps getting there (getting the bread out, a knife, spreading the peanut butter on one side, getting another spoon or knife to spread the jam on the other side and all that … just jars & spoons & knives & drips & stains and UUUUGH !

The SOLUTION : make it all beforehand & bake it all up and end up with a nice prepared and pre-spread just slice & serve alternative:  PEANUT BUTTER & STRAWBERRY JAM SWIRL BREAD !!!

SALVATION is here my friends, trust me. Ok, it requires some work but it’s a delight.

I admit it’s not as easy nor as lazy nor as practical as option n°1 but hey, after you’ve gotten past the kneading and initial rising of the dough and find yourself face-to-face with the spreading of the peanut butter on one rectangle of dough, then the same step with another rectangle of dough with the strawberry jam and the rolling and the overlaying of two creamy filled dough logs and the twisting and final rise (it seems long but I talk too much) … but after that, you’ll finally reach the TA-DAAAAAA stage ! (applause please).

The recipe I’m giving you here is tailored to fit my largest loaf pan because the first time I made it, it rose too much and overflowed (my largest loaf pan is 30cm long x 11 cm wide x 6,5 cm high, which is quite large anyways) but you could also cut the assembled and twisted dough roll in 2 and bake it in 2 smaller loaf pans. And don’t hesitate to sacrifice part of the uncooked loaf and slice a part of it off to get a better fit in your loaf pan because it will inevitably rise a lot. Be careful and do what you must.

A helpful hint : you don’t want to overstuff your loaf pan so use an appropriate size where there will be some free space around it and above it too (about half as high as the loaf pan for the second rise because when you actually bake it, if it’s too big, then you’ll have a big overflowing MESS … DANGER - DANGER - DANGER !

Dearest grown-ups & teenies & kiddies & everyone, E-N-J-O-Y the big RETURN ! You can smile now, it’s going to be OK … :)

peanut butter & strawberry jam swirl bread

16.09.2016

1 loaf - 12 servings/slices

ingredients

sweet dough :

  • 320 grams (2 ½ cups) all-purpose flour + 32 grams (¼) cup extra for flouring
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) milk
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) water
  • 58 grams (¼ cup) unsalted butter
  • 49 grams (¼ cup) granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs : 1 ¾ eggs (105 grams or 7 tbsp) for the dough + ¼ egg (or 1 tbsp) egg for the egg-milk wash

*note : 1 medium/large egg = 58g-60g = ¼ cup = 4 tbsp

  • 2,5 grams (½ tsp) salt
  • 6-8 grams (1½ tsp - 2 tsp) dry active or instant yeast (depending on the room temperature, 6 grams on a warmer day, 8 grams on a cooler day)

filling :

  • 125 grams (1/2 cup) smooth peanut butter (or substitute with other nut butters, add more sugar if not sweetened)
  • 20 grams (2 tbsp) chopped roasted peanuts (for extra crunch)
  • 125 grams (1/2 cup) strawberry jam (or substitute with other jams)
  • optional : you can add 1 tbsp of soft butter + 1 tbsp of sugar to mix in with the strawberry jam (to thicken it) and 1 tbsp soft butter + 1 tbsp granulated sugar to mix in with the peanut butter (to thin it down and make it easier to spread)

egg-milk wash :

  • 15 grams beaten egg (1 tbsp or ¼ egg) + 15 ml (1 tbsp) milk 

instructions

  • heat the milk and the butter until melted, add the water, let cool until slightly warmer than your finger, add the yeast and stir and let sit for several minutes
  • whisk the 2 eggs together (save 1 tbsp of beaten egg for the egg-milk wash) and then beat the eggs and sugar together until creamy
  • combine the flour and salt in one large bowl
  • add the milk-butter-water-yeast mixture to the egg-sugar mixture, then add the flour mixture and knead for 7-10  minutes with the dough hook until smooth and slightly sticky
  • brush a large bowl with some vegetable oil, place the dough inside, cover and let rise in a warm place for at least 1 ½ - 2 hours until more than doubled in volume
  • have the peanut butter and strawberry jam and crushed peanuts (for extra crunch) ready and in separate bowls (you can have some extra on the side, just in case) and add some butter and/or sugar to the peanut butter and jam to thicken the jam and to thin down the peanut butter (for easier spreading)
  • flour your work surface very well, place the dough on the work surface, sprinkle flour on top of the dough and on your rolling pin and roll out the dough to about 5 mm thick and shape into a large rectangle using the flat sides of a large spatula
  • cut the dough into 2 equal longer rectangular pieces
  • gently spread the peanut butter on one rectangle of dough, up until the edges and sprinkle with the chopped peanuts (I add chopped peanuts after instead of using crunchy peanut butter because it could rip the dough)
  • gently spread the strawberry jam on the other rectangle of dough up until the edges
  • using the large spatula as an aid, gently lift up one edge of the dough and tightly roll up each rectangle of dough into a tight log and sprinkle with more flour (stretch them out a bit by rolling them around if necessary) and repeat with the second one
  • lay one dough log across the other dough log, in an X pattern and start twisting/braiding them together
  • place the dough in a slightly buttered parchment paper covered loaf pan that is larger than the twisted dough, cover and let rise for another 1 – 2 hours
  • preheat oven to 185-190°C
  • brush the top of the loaf with the egg-milk wash, (save some for later for a second brushing after 25 minutes of baking if you wish) and bake the loaf for 30-35 minutes until golden
  • remove from the oven and let the loaf cool completely for at least 1 hour before removing from the loaf pan
  • serve at room temperature and wrap up the remaining loaf in a kitchen towel and consume in the next 2-3 days (because brioche-style dough or sweet-dough can dry out quickly).

recette suivante

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