- Average
- Average budget
Ingredients
- Activating the Yeast:
- To activate the yeast, combine the following in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes, until foamy and large:
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp dry yeast
- Dough:
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 cups all purpose flour (sifted)
- 7 tbsp white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Filling:
- 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preparation
Step 1
In sauce pan or microwave heat milk until scalding (cool lightly), then pour the milk into a mixing bowl and stir in sugar and salt.
Step 2
Add 2 cups sifted flour, melted butter, eggs, vanilla and the activated yeast mixture in a large bowl and stir the mixture on low to combine. It will be very wet. Then add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour, little at a time, until the dough is still sticky but starts to come away from the sides of the bowl.
Step 3
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and with the remaining 1/2 cup of the sifted flour (little at a time) knead the dough, the dough will still be slightly sticky and that's what you want. You do not want dry dough. Now divide the dough in half and place each half in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise in a warm place for one and a 90 minutes, until doubled in size.
Step 4
Halfway through the dough rising make the filling. Combine the softened cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl mixed to combine. Then set aside.
Step 5
Now assemble the loaves, place one portion of double-risen dough on flour surface, then roll it out to about 12″ then reach underneath the dough and gently start to stretch it with your hands, starting from the middle and working towards the edges.
Step 6
Try to keep it in a roughly rectangular shape with the short sides of the rectangle. Stretch the dough as thinly and evenly as you can, should be thin enough to read through it and will be very large.
Step 7
Drop the filling by spoonfuls on the dough and spread it out evenly with a rubber spatula to within half an inch of the dough’s edge
Step 8
Loosely roll up the dough from one side to the middle, then repeat from the other side, so you end up with two rolls, side by side. Fold the one end of the roll into the middle, then the other side to the middle. turn the loaf over so the ends are on the bottom and place it in a greased 9X5″ loaf pan.
Step 9
Brush melted butter over the top of the loaf. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit somewhere in a warm place for about 30 minutes. While it’s resting, preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Step 10
Turn down the heat to 300˚F and bake for 60 minutes, until brown. Check after 30 minutes to make sure it’s not browning too fast if it is, cover loosely with foil. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter. Let cool completely in the pan or on a rack before removing from the pan to slice.
Another great filling is the cinnamon apple. just spread room soften butter on the dough sprinkle about 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 table spoons of cinnamon and chop an apple into small bite size and just put all over the cinnamon sugar mixture.