Okay, this recipe is so special and definetly for the family that loves blueberries and cream cheese. I love a good danish but also don't love the tediousness of making a ton of small danishes. So I made a mega roll, and poured icing all over it. It makes a TON, so if you have a big family...this one is for you! I actually cut this thing in half and gave it to another family because it was too much for us and we are big eaters. It would also be great if you needed to make something for a large brunch or a big group. It could be breakfast, it could also be dessert.
There is some technique required for the twisting, but I'm giving you a video to help you, and its a lot easier than it looks! So don't look at the braid in the picture and write it off. YOU CAN DO IT!
Blueberry Danish Roll
Ingredients
Bread:
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup honey
1 tbs instant yeast
4 1/2 cups hard wheat ( 1 cup hard white grains, 2 cups hard red grains)
2 tbs lecithin
1 egg
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tsp salt
*1/2 cup extra flour for dusting
Filling:
1 block cream cheese
2/3 cup blueberry jelly
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Icing:
2 tbs melted butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
Directions:
Warm the milk, not too hot or it will kill your yeast. Add the honey to the milk, and sprinkle the yeast on top of the milk and give it a stir. Let that sit and activate your yeast.
Mill the grain and add the flour, salt, lecithin, to a large bowl or mixer bowl. Add the eggs and olive oil. When your yeast is bubbly and foamy, add it to the large bowl of flour and mix and knead for 5-8 minutes. Cover the bowl and let it rise for 45 minutes.
While the bread is doing its first rise, make the filling. Put everything in a food processor, and blend until smooth. Put it in the refrigerator until its time to use!
After 45 minutes, if you're using a bread cloche, go ahead and preheat the oven to 350 degrees and put the bread cloche in the oven to warm up. If your not using a bread cloche, skip this right now! If you don't have a bread cloche but want one, this is my favorite, I have this one in red.
At 45 minutes, the dough will have doubled in size, flour a large work surface. Dump the dough out on the work surface and roll the dough into a large rectangle. Use extra flour to dust the top to prevent sticking to the rolling pin. Pour the filling onto the dough, and spread it out all over. Roll the dough like a cinnamon roll. You will have some spillage, but don't worry about it. Let yourself enjoy the messy process.
Take a sharp knife and slice the roll in half, right down the middle. Take your two pieces and start twisting the dough over top of each other. It doesn't have to be tight, and it will be messy. The inside will unroll some, again don't worry about it. Once your twisted, start on one end of the dough and spin it sideways to wrap it into itself. Watch the video if this is confusing! It sounds much harder than it is, and its also hard to explain and understand without a visual.
If you have a bread cloche, you can put the dough into the cloche bottom. Give the dough a few sprays of water and put the lid on it. Bake on the middle rack for 45 minutes.
If you don't have a bread cloche, just put the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Its pretty heavy, so I used a dough scraper to help me move the dough, you can also use a spatula. Dont stress about it being ugly at this point, it bakes up so nice! f Cover the dough again and let it rise for another 20-40 minutes. Let it double in size again. Bake 30 minutes uncovered, and 15 minutes covered with foil.
Make the icing, and allow the bread to cool for 15 minutes. Drizzle the icing all over it. and let it cool another 15 minutes before you slice into it.
OR
I like to make these at night, and let it cool overnight. Add the icing right before we eat breakfast!
Here is a video for more instructions if this is like looking through muddy water.
happy baking!!
- Michal
p.s. I'm on a major Alan Jackson kick right now...and if you haven't had a listen to these oldies...they are still goodies.