Cinnamon Scone Bread
★★★★★
MAKES
1 loaf
Ingredients
4 tablespoons
all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons
granulated sugar
4 tablespoons
brown sugar
2 teaspoons
cinnamon
1 tablespoon
heavy cream
2 1/2 cups
(11 1/4 ounces or 319 grams) all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 cup
granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top of loaf
1 tablespoon
baking powder
3/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
6 tablespoons
chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup
currants
1/2 teaspoon
cinnamon, cocoa powder, or espresso powder
1 cup
heavy cream, plus more for brushing on dough
1
large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons
pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- For the streusel: Mix together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in the cream to make a streusel. This is not a chunky streusel. It's more of a sugary blend. Set aside.
- For the bread: Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease a parchment-lined 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
- Place the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade and pulse to combine.
- Add the butter and pulse about 8 or so times. You want to retain some small pieces of butter. Don’t blitz the heck out of it. Transfer the flour mixture to a large mixing bowl. If you've got some really large butter lumps, just squish them with the back of a fork.
- In a small bowl, mix the currants with the cinnamon. Add to the flour/butter mixture, and toss lightly.
- In a large measuring cup, place the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla. Mix well. Pour into flour mixture. With a dinner fork, fold the wet ingredients into the dry as you gradually turn the bowl. It’s a folding motion you’re shooting for, not a stirring motion. When dough begins to gather, use a plastic bowl scraper to gently knead the dough into a ball shape. If there is still a lot of loose flour in the bottom of the bowl, drizzle in a bit more cream, a teaspoon at a time, until the dough comes together.
- Transfer the dough ball to a generously floured board. Pat dough into a 6- by 14-inch rectangle.
- Now the fun part. Please refer to the above photos for reference. Cut the rectangle into 12 equal pieces. Brush with cream. Sprinkle streusel on 6 pieces. Flip a non-streuseled piece onto a streuseled piece and continue to build the layers. It’s easiest to transfer the layers to the pan in sections. Lay them in the pan, like a sideways lasagna. Continue layering until fully assembled. Brush top with cream and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake on the center rack for about 50 minutes. For the last 10 minutes, I cover my loaf with aluminum foil, as I don't want the top to scorch. Loaf is done when a cake tester comes out clean. Make sure to poke it into a cake layer and not a streusel layer.
- Let cool 15 minutes. I like this bread best served warm. Either rip the bread apart with your hands or cut slices long-ways to see the pretty striations of streusel.
- Alternatively, if the sideways lasagna technique is too fussy for you, build your scone bread in the pan one large layer at a time, like a traditional lasagna. So instead of 12 pieces, cut your rectangle of dough into 6 pieces, and proceed with the layering.
