Canela

One day I woke up, saw this gorgeous brioche-style sweet bread on Claudia&Julia's Instagram, and knew I had to make it. In my case, I made two loaves, a medium one and a small one to give away. I really liked the texture, though I think I should have been more patient with the first proof of the dough so it would rise more and be fluffier. My taste-testers loved it; I'll have to make it again to truly enjoy it once my brain decides to start picking up the aroma and flavor of cinnamon again, after fully recovering from the aftereffects of damn COVID-19.

Ingredients

• 330 g (2.6 cups) bread flour
• 4 g (1.25 tsp) active dry yeast
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) milk
• 2 eggs
• 75 g (6 tbsp) sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 60 g (4 tbsp) butter (at room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method

1. Mix the bread flour and dry yeast in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the lightly beaten eggs, the warm milk, 30 g (2 tbsp) of the sugar (reserve the rest), and the salt.
2. Whisk the wet ingredients with a fork while gradually incorporating the flour and yeast mixture. Stir until the dough gets too stiff, then turn it out onto a clean work surface and knead for 10 minutes. You want to end up with a smooth dough.
3. Next, add the butter, cut into small cubes, and keep kneading until it's fully incorporated.
4. Grease a deep, roomy bowl with a touch of oil and let the dough rest inside it, covered with a clean dry kitchen towel, until it doubles in size (it'll depend on room temperature, but easily two hours).
5. Once the first rise is done, punch it down by pressing with your fingers a few times. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin to about one centimeter (about 3/8 inch) thick.
6. Sprinkle with the rest of the sugar and the ground cinnamon and press down with your hands or the rolling pin so it sticks well.
7. Cut the dough into squares slightly narrower than the loaf pan you're going to bake it in. Don't worry if they're a bit uneven.
8. Place the squares of dough vertically inside the previously greased loaf pan. Any sugar and cinnamon left on the counter from falling off the dough as you arranged it can be sprinkled over the top of the bread.
9. Cover the pan with a clean dry kitchen towel and let it rise again for about 60 minutes, or until it nearly reaches the rim of the pan.
10. Put the pan in the oven, preheated to 180°C (350°F) with top and bottom heat, and bake for 45-50 minutes. If you see it browning too much, cover with foil.
11. Take it out of the oven and let it cool before unmolding and serving.

PiC Tips

• Be patient with the proofing times — they depend on room temperature, so in winter it'll take longer, but not waiting long enough can completely ruin the recipe.
• If you don't like cinnamon, leave it out or swap it for something else. It won't be a cinnamon pull-apart bread anymore, but it'll be just as delicious.

As strange as it sounds, this recipe could pass as an express one, even though we have to make a custard cream. And the secret of today’s recipe lies precisely in making that cream fast, easy, delicious, and in just 10 minutes. The trick: the microwave, that great forgotten appliance we only ever bother with to heat up the morning milk.

What do we need?

For the cream:

• 100 g (1/2 cup) sugar

• 40 g (1/3 cup) cornstarch

• 3 egg yolks

• 1/2 liter (2 cups) milk

• 1 tablespoon butter

For the tartlet:

• 1 sheet of puff pastry

• Sugar

• Cinnamon

How do we make it?

• First we prepare the custard cream. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together in one bowl, and the egg yolks with the milk in another.

• Then mix everything together and pop it in the microwave for 8 minutes at max power, stopping every 2 minutes to stir.

• Once the 8 minutes are up, add the butter, stir, and you’re done.

• Next, roll the puff pastry sheet out a bit with a rolling pin and sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon.

• Roll the dough into a log, pressing it with your fingers so it doesn’t end up too uniform.

• Cut it into several pieces and flatten each one to form a sort of mini-pizza.

• Use a muffin tin (the kind with several holes, like little flan molds). Place each circle into one of the cavities and press it in to form a tartlet.

• Pop it in the oven, preheated to 180°C (350°F), for about 12 minutes.

• Keep an eye on it and press the dough down every now and then to keep the hollow where the cream will go.

• Once baked, fill them with the cream, sprinkle with sugar, and brown them in the oven or with a blowtorch.

Tips:

• Microwaves come in different wattages so the cooking time may vary. As you heat the cream, you’ll see it thicken until it reaches the consistency you want.

• If you want to use the custard cream for another recipe that calls for a thinner cream, just cut down on the amount of cornstarch.