yeasted coffee cake

when i saw this picture of a yeasted coffee cake on friday i pretty much knew immediately what my sunday baking project would be. i've made, and loved, traditional coffee cakes but never thought to go the yeasted route. thank you vegansaurus for posting that picture because i can say for certain that this is a treat i will turn to again and again. imagine a coffee cake filling swirled within a light sweet bread dough...it's like if coffee cake and cinnamon rolls had a baby. the best part is that there are no super long rise times so you can easily make and eat this in a day, the dough is easy to work with and when it's baking it will make your entire home smell delicious (at least if your entire home is a teeny lil apartment). it's best the day of or day after baking but even after that you can heat it up a bit and it's still quite delicious. i loved the nutty date filling that i made but i also look forward to trying out some variations. you could make a glaze to drizzle over the top as well but i think it's pretty much perfect as is.

yeasted coffee cake
(makes one ring cake)
ingredients for the dough:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon yeast
1/3 cup almond milk, with a splash of apple cider vinegar to curdle
1 ounce water (any temperature)
1/4 cup margarine, room temperature
1 container (6 ounces) plain soy yogurt

ingredients for the filling:
1 tablespoon margarine
2 cups pecans, chopped
5 dates, chopped
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

first, make your dough. combine 3/4 cup of the flour with the sugar, salt and yeast.
in a saucepan, combine almond milk, water and margarine and heat until warm and the margarine is just melted.

on low speed, add the milk/margarine mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until well blended. increase speed to medium and add the yogurt and 1/2 cup more of flour and beat for 2 minutes. stir in enough of the remaining 3/4 cup of flour (or more if needed) so dough holds together. knead for 8-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

place in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat. cover with plastic and let rise for about an hour, until doubled in size.

meanwhile, make your filling by mixing all the ingredients (except the margarine) together.

once your dough has risen roll it out into a rectangle that is about 9x17 (that is the very precise measurement i came up with by comparing my rectangle to my baking sheet). cut off small bits of 1 tablespoons of margarine and spread them around on the dough then sprinkle with your filling evenly covering the dough, leaving a small border around the edges.

starting at the long edge carefully roll your dough into a log and pinch the seam closed. then shape it into a ring and pinch that seam closed. using scissors or a nice sharp knife cut slits all around the ring. place on a parchment/silpat lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. let rise for another hour.

when your dough is almost done rising heat your oven to 350. brush the top of the loaf with almond milk and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.


-d