Cinnamon Bread

Monday, January 03, 2011 | Labels: dessert

Hello everyone! Today is the first recipe posting! So how this is going to work is first I'll post the recipe and where I got it, the specific branded ingredients, then I'll post what I thought about it. All of the pictures I post are taken by me unless otherwise stated.

The first recipe is called Cinnamon Bread and is from The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book by Kelly Rudnicki. This book is perfect for me because I love sweets, but it's also targeted for those with dairy, egg, and nut allergies.

Cinnamon Bread: dairy, egg, nut, fish, and shellfish free. Can also be soy free, and with a little more adjusting, wheat free.

Bread

1/4 cup dairy-free shortening (watch out for soy, the only one I've come across without it is the Walmart brand Great Value)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (Gluten free: try other flours such as rice, millet, amaranth, quinoa, sorghum, buckwheat, etc.)
1 tablespoon baking powder (Gluten free: search labels; try Rumford/Clabber Girl, Kraft's Calumet, etc.)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk (Dairy free: rice, almond, coconut, soy, etc.)

Topping

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons melted margarine (Dairy free: find an alternative such as Earth Balance; they also have soy-free ones)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and spray a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with dairy-free baking spray (I'm allergic to soy which is in most of them so I just used flour).
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the shortening and 3/4 cup sugar thoroughly, adding the water as the mixture runs. Beat until fluffy. (I just used a whisk)
In a separate mixing bowl, sift together the remaining dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the shortening mixture, alternating it with the milk.
In a separate bowl, mix together the 2 teaspoons cinnamon, the 1/2 cup sugar, and the margarine to make the topping.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkly the batter with the topping mixture. Bake for 45 minutes, or until an inserted cake tester (I used a toothpick) come out clean and the topping is crusty brown. cool 10 minutes before slicing.

What I used: Great Value (Walmart) shortening, Great Value sugar, tap water, Great Value all-purpose flour, Great Value baking powder, McCormick's ground cinnamon, Great Value salt, Silk's PureAlmond vanilla almond milk, and Earth Balance soy free natural buttery spread

What I think: I thought this bread tasted amazing. It reminds me of cinnamon sugar toast I used to love when I was little. The topping was definitely what made it so tasty. The only thing was that the topping kind of crumbled off, a lot of it disconnecting from the bread. Mine appeared lighter than the picture in the book because I used bleached flour, but other than that, it was replicated pretty well. But, this recipe isn't gluten/wheat free and I don't know much about celiac disease or gluten allergies. If someone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. I also didn't use any cooking spray so the bread stuck to the edges, as you can see in the picture. But the volume was more than I expected, due to the lack of eggs. If anyone else gives it a try, let me know what you think. Opinions are greatly appreciated.

-Michelle