This Cornish saffron Easter bread is made using the tangzhong method which keeps it soft and fresh for several days on the counter. It's a slightly sweet and delicious way to celebrate Easter.
1teaspoonsaffron threads ground to powder(or 1/2 teaspoon powdered saffron) steeped in 2.5 oz boiling water, cooled to lukewarm
8oz2 sticks unsalted butter, very soft
For the Glaze
¾cupsifted powdered sugar
2teaspoonskey lime juice(I use Nelly & Joe's)
tiny pinch of salt
a few drops Crude Bitters "Sycophant" Orange & Fig Bitters(optional) or use another orange bitters
enough strained orange juice to give your glaze about the consistency of Elmer's Glue. Add a teaspoon at a time until you get there.
Instructions
For the Tangzhong
Cook the flour, milk and water together until thickened, whisking constantly over medium heat.
Let cool.
For the Dough
Put all the rest of the dough ingredients in the bowl of your heavy duty stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Mix on low speed until all the ingredients are combined.
Cover the bowl (still on the mixer) and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
Knead on medium low speed for ten minutes. Cover the mixer and let the dough rest again for another 20-30 minutes.
Knead another 10 minutes on medium-low speed. Check the dough to see if it will pass the windowpane test. If not, let it rest for another 20 minutes or so and knead again for 5 minutes. You can also finish by vigorously kneading by hand if you want.
Once the dough is smooth and supple and passes the windowpane test, shape it into a smooth ball and place it back in the mixing bowl. smooth side up. Spray the dough with a bit of oil or pan spray and then cover with plastic wrap or a lint-free towel.
Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 4-5 hours, depending on the temperature of the dough and the temperature of the warm place you let it rise.
When the dough has doubled, gently press out the gases.
Put the dough in a gallon-sized zip top bag and let rest in the fridge overnight (at least 8 hours).
When ready to shape your dough, remove the dough from the fridge and weigh it. You should have right around 60 oz of dough. I scaled my dough into 5 12 oz pieces and shaped each one a bit differently. You can also make larger loaves by scaling into 3 20 oz pieces or 4 15 oz pieces. This part is completely up to you.
Shape each piece however you would like, including baking as loaves if you'd like. Place each finished dough on parchment-lined sheet trays, spray with pan spray, cover and let rise in a warm place until puffy and not quite doubled in size, about 2 hours.
Bake at 425F for the first 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and bake until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 195-200F, about 25 minutes total. If baking on two racks (I had to), swap trays top to bottom and rotate each tray 180F to ensure even baking. If any of the loaves start to get overly browned before they are done, cover them loosely with foil.
When done, remove the loaves to racks to cool. Brush a thin layer of the glaze evenly on each loaf. It should be almost transparent. Of course, if you like a lot of glaze, add more after the first layer sets up.
Serve at room temperature. This bread is also delicious toasted. You don't need to slather any butter on it since it is already so rich, but jam wouldn't hurt.