Triple Berry Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I, like most of you, love Joy the Baker. Her hair, her cat, her baking skills. 

I think all of us almost-thirty-somethings-in-denial that end up staying in most night to bake instead of partying our faces off would like to think that we can be her some day... publishing cookbooks, going on book tours, hanging out with Ina Garten...

Well, I guess you gotta start somewhere. 

And that somewhere is baking bootcamp!

(WHAT. Can we talk about the apple pie biscuits!?)

As you may have guessed, I made the first of four today: the Triple Berry Cinnamon Swirl Bread. Check the link on her site for detailed instructions (with pictures!).

Dudes.

This is serious business. It's like a gigantic cinnamon bun with fruit in it. It's the greatest and it wasn't even a huge mess or ordeal to make! Seriously! You don't even need a mixer.

Mmm. Get it girl.

I don't have a cast iron skillet (crazy, I know) so I just used a cake pan. 

And I probably should have followed her instructions closely because mine ended up looking like a giant lump. If you check on Instagram, everyone else pulled off a far prettier version, but I'm sure it all tastes the same. 

And I also used two cups of berries (which is what the recipe calls for) and berries were errywhere, which is fine by me, but I should have probably rolled out the dough a little thinner to account for all of that junk I stuffed inside of it.

Whatevs. Definitely make this because it's delicious and fancy-lookin' without all of the trouble. 

Oh, and enter the giveaway! Normally, I'd convince you not to so I would have a better chance, but I never win anything and this is kind of a sweet prize, so you deserve it. The winner will get a year's supply of King Arthur's Flour and a baking essentials gift box valued at $250! Dang. That's a lotta bench scrapers. 

Check out the rules here and get baking!

For the Dough:

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

3/4 cup whole milk, warmed to a warm lukewarm

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 1/4 cups King Arthur All-Purpose Flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

a bit of olive oil for greasing the bowl

For the Filling:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 cups fresh berries (sliced fresh strawberries, fresh raspberries, fresh blueberries)

1 large egg, beaten for egg wash

 In a medium bowl stir yeast with sugar. Stir in the lukewarm milk and then add the egg yolk and melted butter.  Whisk together until thoroughly combined.  Allow mixture to rest for 5 minutes.  It should foam and froth.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour and salt. Pour the milk mixture over the dry ingredients and start kneading it until it pulls away from the edges of the bowl. Place dough on a lightly floured counter and knead by hand for about 10 minutes more.  Dough ball should be smooth and damp, without being too sticky.  Shape dough into a ball. Grease a large bowl with olive oil.  Place the dough in the bowl and cover.  Allow to rest at warm room temperature for about 1 hours, or until doubled in size.

While the dough rises, whisk together the butter with sugar and cinnamon for the filling. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet.  Set aside.

After the dough has doubled in size, place it on a lightly floured counter and knead twice.  Using a rolling pin to roll the dough to a rectangle of about 18×12 inches.

Spoon the cinnamon filling over top, spreading evenly, leaving a clean 1-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle the fresh berries over the cinnamon filling. Start by rolling the longest side of the dough.  The roll will be a bit lumpy because of all the berries. Using a sharp knife, cut the log in half length-wise leaving 1-inch of the edge uncut. Start braiding the two pieces, by carefully lifting the left strand over the right strand.  Repeat this motion until you reach the bottom of the dough.  Press together to seal.  Join the two ends, creating a circle with the dough and press together. Using two swift hands, transfer the dough ring to the prepared cast iron skillet.

Brush the wreath with the beaten egg. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.  Allow to cool for about 30 minutes before slicing and serving.