Tis The Season

What a fantastic bunch of recipes, and the pictures have my mouth watering like a salivating pavlovian pooch.  I can't wait to try several of these out!  This time of year I get a bit manic about cooking, so your blog is just the place for me to dwell while I have the time. Something about the baking process, and resulting smells help air out old memories of glorious holidays and great times of yore.  

My first shot across the Christmas bow started Friday night.  Gwen had brought back a library book, "Bread Machine" by Jennie Shapter.  I was more than a tad curious about how this book's secrets and my available time could combine into a bake fest extravaganza.  While flipping thru the gloriously oversized pictures of sweet and savory carbs,  I dusted off the mechanical bread robot, and while flipping thru, watched it from the corner of my eye as it stood at attention, appearing to await my any command. I finally landed on a recipe for Mixed Peel Braid, and I made do with what I had instead of what it called for.
(I've placed a jump break in, so click the blog title to view the recipe)



Mixed Peel Braid
(For the Bread)
- 6 tablespoons of milk
- 1 egg
- 2.5 cups flour (I used cake flower and it flopped, but all purpose works dandy)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup melted butter (I used margarine, but butter I think would be better)
- 1 teaspoon yeast
(For the Filling)
- 2/3 cup mixed peel (I substituted extra fruit cake mix instead)
- 1/3 cup golden raisins (I used regular raisins)
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I used local pecans because I had them leftover)
- 2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger (Left it out because I didn't have it)
- 3 tablespoons three citrus marmalade (I substituted smuckers apricot jam)
- 2 tablespoons of brandy (I just threw this in, to "sauce" up the taste)
(For the Glaze)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
Full disclosure, I didn't make this part, instead I made my own glaze, and it consisted of a cup of leftover cold coffee with a couple of spoons of sugar mixed in.

Directions
- Make the bread dough.  In my case load up the robot and push the "dough" button
- Remove dough punch it down then roll it out to 11x16" rectangle
- Combine the filling, spread the mixture lenghtwise over the middle third of the rolled out dough.  Leave a 1 inch border at either end.
- Use a sharp knife, cut strips angled toward you, roughly 3/4" wide
- Working from the far end, fold the end piece first (like a burrito), then braid the dough strips over the filling. Tuck the end up to seal the burrito.
- Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm spot or oven for 30-45 mins
- Preheat the oven and grease up your pan (yeah I'm an amateur, and I've forgotten to grease the pan)
- Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce to 375 degrees and bake for 10-15 mins, or until the braids are golden and well risen.
- Cool and chow down!