Cinnamon Pull Bread

Suggested pantry item: Stock up on cinnamon this month. Don't buy that little jar. Buy it in bulk and then don't forget to use it.

Did you know cinnamon is powerful? It is absolutely good for you. A little bit goes a long way towards sugar balance and heart health. Cinnamon actually has a high dietary fiber content. That is why I don't feel too guilty about bringing you this tasty breakfast/brunch bread. It is easy to make and it is less fattening than it's cousin monkey bread. Yet, it is still a tasty little bite of cinnamon bread goodness. I actually got this recipe from one of my Library cook book finds: Cooking Smart For a Healthy Heart by Readers Digest. I have this sudden blood pressure issue and so I am trying to make, at least a token effort to address the hypertension that erupts when I am not medicated.

Any way, this was a hit with the family and there was something about rolling all those little golf ball sized dough balls that I found immensely satisfying.

A note on fat: Remember how I compared this to its much more famous cousin, Monkey Bread? Well, although this recipe contains 5 g of fat per serving, it only contains 1.5 g saturated fat. Pretty decent for a cinnamon/sugar breakfast bread.

Recipe

5 to 5 51/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 packets of rapid rise yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups milk

10 Tb margarine

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar (light)

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

• Mix 1 1/4 cups flour with 1/4 cup granulated sugar, yeast and salt in a large bowl.
• Heat milk and 4 Tb margarine in saucepan over medium heat until very warm (do not boil). Stir into flour mixture.
• Stir in egg and enough remaining flour (at least 3 1/2 cups) to form a soft dough.
• Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes) I used my Bosch but feel free to hand knead.
• Melt remaining margarine and coat a 10 inch tube cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Combine remaining sugars and cinnamon.
• Pull off golf ball sized balls and arrange in a single layer in pan.
• Brush with half of the melted margarine and sprinkle with half cinnamon/sugar mixture.
• Repeat with a second layer.
• Cover with damp towel. Let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Bake until browned on top, about 35 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then unmold. Serve warm.