Easter Cinnamon Bread

Nothing like the smell of bread and cinnamon wafting in the air during Easter!

Preparation time:   2 hours

Cooking time:   40 minutes

Serves: 10

250 g currants

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

80 g freshly squeezed orange juice

10 g caster sugar

11 g instant yeast

125 g water

100 g caster sugar

700 g bread flour

5 g salt

150 ml milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

80 g butter, melted, cooled

80 g caster sugar

10 ground cinnamon

2 egg yolks, beaten with 1 tablespoon warm water

100 g butter, melted and cooled (for brushing)

80 g icing sugar, sifted

40 g warm water

METHOD

1. Place the currants into a bowl with the orange juice and zest. Cover and set aside, at room temperature, overnight.
2. Combine the yeast, 10 g caster sugar and 125 g water in a bowl.
3. Cover and leave it aside for 20 minutes or until frothy.
4. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the 100 g sugar and salt in. Stir well to combine.
5. In a separate bowl, beat the milk, beaten eggs and melted butter together to combine.
6. Make a well in the flour. Add in yeast and egg mixtures, stirring it well. Knead until the mixture becomes a soft dough.
7. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel or cling wrap and leave aside for about 1 hour, or until the dough doubles in size.
8. Punch the dough back and then knead for 10 minutes until you have a smooth dough. (Alternatively, you can also knead the dough in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook for 8 – 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.)
9. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
10. Grease and line the base and sides of TWO 24 cm spring form cake pan with baking paper.
11. Combine the 80 g caster sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
12. Divide the dough into 3 pieces and roll each piece into a 30cm x 20cm rectangle.
13. Brush each piece with some melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Scatter the soaked currents over each piece.
14. Roll up each piece of dough loosely from the long end to form a log. Trim the ends, then cut each log into 6 equal rounds. Lay each round, cut-side up and flatten slightly with your hands.
15. Arrange the slices in the cake pan in a circular pattern, leaving 1 cm between each. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave aside for 30 minutes until slightly risen.
16. Brush the tops with the egg yolk glaze. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
17. Cool slightly in the pan before transferring them to a wire rack.
18. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then stir in the warm water to form a loose icing.
19. When the Easter bread is just warm, drizzle with the icing, allowing it to drip down the sides, and serve.