I think I’ve mentioned before that Sarah has started spending a lot more time in the kitchen. It’s been fun watching her develop an interest in cooking and she is pretty daring in her exploits. It took me a long time to be brave enough to venture into bread making but it was one of her first endeavors.
She’s pretty fearless and we are reaping the benefits for sure. And you can too because I hope Sundays With Sarah will become a regular feature here on the blog. Another monthly post born out of her kitchen adventures will be Thursdays With Mary and Sarah. Once a month she gets with a friend and they cook for our families and the first meal was amazing! (Just wait until you see those recipes!)
But for today’s inaugural Sundays With Sarah post we’re sharing a delicious blueberry swirl bread. The original recipe called for cranberries but they’re out of season and we had plenty of frozen blueberries left from when we picked them last season so it was a quick and easy swap. She’s made this twice now and it’s been a big hit.
For the bread ~
What you’ll need:
1/3 cup sugar
1 package active dry yeast (Just realized we used rapid rise and it was fine.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cup all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
What you’ll do:
In a small pot, heat the water, milk, and butter over medium heat until butter is melted.
Remove pot from heat and let the mixture cool.
While it is cooling mix together the sugar, yeast, salt, and 1 cup of the flour in a large bowl.
Pour the lukewarm liquid ingredients to your dry ingredients and mix on low speed.
Stir in remaining flour one cup at a time increasing the mixer speed slightly until a smooth dough is formed.
If the dough seems a little dry add a little olive oil or if it’s too wet add a little more flour.
Shape the dough into a smooth ball and transfer to a lightly greased bowl.
Cover and allow the dough to rise until double in size. (Usually takes about an hour.)
While your dough is rising you can make your blueberry filling.
What you’ll need:
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/4 cup water
1 TBS butter
1 TBS lemon juice
What you’ll do:
Combine the blueberries, brown sugar, corn starch, and water in a small pot.
Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens, about 10 to 15 minutes.
(You may want to keep your pot covered as the blueberries may begin to burst.)
Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients and stir.
Allow mixture to cool.
Putting it all together ~
Punch down dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll the dough to a 10 x 20 inch rectangle.
Spread the blueberry sauce to within 1/2 inch from the sides.
Starting with one of the shorter sides, tightly roll up the dough, pinching the edges closed.
Turn seam side down and with a sharp knife slice the full length of the bread down the center, end to end.
Braid the two strands and carefully move to a lightly greased 10 inch loaf pan.
(You will probably want an extra set of hands for this part!)
Cover and allow a second rise in a warm place, about 30 minutes.
Uncover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is a golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove from pan.
Dust with powdered sugar and a few blueberries and enjoy!
We ate the first loaf while it was still warm and utterly delicious. We ate her second loaf the day after she baked it and it was still just as fantastic.
The Common Place 