No Need to Knead

Bread and pasta....my two favorite carbs.  I could eat a loaf of freshly baked French bread and not even think twice about it.  I remember visiting Europe with my grandma and each time we went, we made sure that every meal consisted of some type of bread.  When we were in Italy, every meal consisted of bread and pasta...those were some of the best meals I've ever had.

As much as I love bread, I don't eat very much of it very often these days if at all.  We have a bread maker I was gifted a few years ago and it's still sitting in the bubble wrap it came in.  I've always wanted to bake a steaming loaf of fresh bread.  My Mawmaw made the most amazing bread from scratch.  I can still smell it when I think about her.

I had every intention of baking a loaf when we got the bread maker, but every recipe I came across called for yeast and/or kneading.  I typically don't keep any yeast in the pantry and I'd always forget to pick some up at the store.  And kneading?!  No thanks.  I'm a little too lazy when it comes to cooking in the kitchen and I'd prefer not to take the extra step {lame, I know}.

Since I've been cooking breakfast for my boys in the morning, I really try hard to mix things up.  They share the same love for bread that I do so I wanted to find a bread recipe that would double as a great for breakfast for them or as a late night snack for me.  Then I came across this one and I knew it was kismet.  And the best part?!  I had all the ingredients on hand so it was on the table and in our bellies the very next morning.  

CINNAMON SUGAR RIBBON BREAD

via Averie Cooks

1/3 C. sugar

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1/4 C. unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

1 C. light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1 C. buttermilk

2. C. all purpose flour

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

3/4 tsp. baking soda

For this recipe, you'll need a 9x5 in. loaf pan.  Grease that up just a bit and sprinkle with flour.  Set aside.

Now go ahead and preheat your oven to 350.

Mix together the cinnamon & sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

Melt the butter.

While the butter is melting, combine the egg, brown sugar, oil, & vanilla.  Don't pour the butter into the mix until it's had a chance to cool off {for risk of cooking the egg!!}  Once the butter has had a few minutes to cool, add to the egg/brown sugar/oil/vanilla mixture and whisk together until combined.  Then whisk in the buttermilk.

After all that whisking, it's time to stir.

Stir in the flour, nutmeg, and baking soda.  You'll want to stir until it's combined, but make sure not to over stir.  It'll be lumpy and that's A-OK.

Take half of the batter and pour it into your loaf pan.  Reserve the rest and set it aside.  Sprinkle about 3/4ths of the cinnamon/sugar mixture evenly over the batter.  This is going to create the delicious ribbon going through the center of the bread {it's just as tasty as it is pretty}.

Now you can involve your kids if you so desire.  My youngest was BEGGING to help me and he usually doesn't have to beg too hard because I do love when they want to help in the kitchen....even though their assistance usually results in eggshells in the batter, flour sprayed all over the kitchen, and spills on the floor.  Crazy enough, I wouldn't have it any other way...especially now that they're old enough to clean up after themselves ;)

Now top the cinnamon sugar with the rest of the batter and then sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar on top of that.  As you're doing this, just remind yourself that there's no such thing as too much cinnamon sugar.  Especially for this recipe.  Plus, it won't all stick to the crust.  

Bake at 350 for about 45-55 minutes {mine took almost an hour}.  Just like you would with a cake, stick a toothpick in the center of the bread to make sure it's ready.  You may get a few crumbs, but pop it back in the oven if your toothpick is covered in batter.

When it's all ready, remove from the oven and set aside for about 15-20 minutes before inverting.  We covered ours with foil and let it cool overnight so it was ready for breakfast the next morning.

When it was all said and done, we ended up with the most delectable, cinnamon sugar crusted slice of heaven.  SO very good.  And even better with a little tiny spread of butter.  Ohmiword.

I was so happy when my boys ate it all up.  Delighting in my cooking isn't something they're known for, so watching them eat every last crumb sure did make my little mommy heart happy. Of course, I'd be even happier if they would devour vegetables like they do pancakes and bread, but I'll take what I can get when it's 7:00 in the morning.  

Full bellies.  Happy mommy.  A definite winner.  

And I have to say it pairs up pretty well with a tall glass of cold milk, cozy blanket, and Netflix {specifically, Breaking Bad}.