Frangipane Swirl Bread

Well, I must say, what a lovely surprise to find that I really do have more than three readers out there. I was truly excited to read all your messages. Let's get started with something sweet today.

This recipe was something I invented to use up the frangipane we had leftover from Paul's kiflie cookies he makes at Christmas. Let's not talk about exactly how long that frangipane sat in our fridge, just that walnuts and sugar keep for a surprisingly long time.

To use up the frangipane I decided to make a sweet bread instead of the more classic frangipane and fruit tart. I made a dough usually used for making cinnamon rolls but instead I rolled it into one giant loaf with a swirl of sweet gooey walnuts in the middle. The bread is tender with a nice crust and surprisingly addictive. We used a dark brown muscavado sugar which, like my dark brown sugar always is, was full of hardened lumps. I didn't bother sifting out the lumps and they actually added a lovely brown sugar crunch to parts of the bread. And though he'll deny it if you ask him, Paul may have eaten half the loaf within 24 hours.



Frangipane Swirl Bread
Shortening seems to work better in this recipe (we use non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening), but if you prefer butter you can use 5 tablespoons of clarified butter.

5 tablespoons shortening at room temperature
1/3 cup dark brown sugar (clumpy is fine, do not sift)
1 package, .22 ounces, instant yeast
1 cup milk, scalded and cooled
salt, 1/2 teaspoon or to taste
3 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

frangipane:
1 1/2 cups walnut pieces
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg white

1. To make the frangipane, pulse all ingredients in a food processor until well ground. Set aside in the fridge.
2. Cream shortening and brown sugar in a large bowl. It's okay if there are clumps in the brown sugar, this is desirable. Add the yeast, salt, milk, and 3 cups of flour. Stir until it comes together in a ball of dough.
3. Slowly add the remaining half cup flour while you knead the dough in the bowl until it is smooth and elastic. (You can also turn it out and knead the dough on a board). Rub some room-temperature butter on the dough to keep it from sticking to bowl, cover the bowl with saran wrap and set in a warm place to rise for 90 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the dough out onto a lightly floured board, stretching it to a rough rectangle. Spread the frangipane over the dough. Roll up the dough into a log and place on the baking sheet, seam side down. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 1 hour.
5. Bake the bread in the oven for 45-50 minutes. It should be firm and borwn on the crust but still tender inside. Place on a rack to cool.