I've been on a roll lately...with Mrs. Millward's Rolls. I told you about her delicious rolls a few days ago, click here for that post. Just when I thought I had made my last batch of rolls for a while, I stumbled upon a recipe for Braided Lemon Bread on Smitten Kitchen and it made my toes tingle. But instead of making Deb's recipe, I had the brilliant idea of using Mrs. Millward's Roll recipe..after all, it is a sweet dough and bakes up perfectly every time and would make the perfect backdrop for a lemony filling!
When I served this to the mister I informed him it was bread...not pastry. It looks like pastry, it smells like pastry and the filling is definitely something you would find in pastry...but it's bread, dense, chewy, sweet, sweet bread. So, the mister stuffs a piece into his bread hole and says, "This isn't a Danish!" He has a grasp of the obvious that's undeniable. He went on to say, "Why would you make Danish that doesn't taste like Danish?" And then, before I could grab my spatula and land a few up the side of his head, he said, "Did you see this box? Isn't this the coolest thing you've ever seen? Look at all of these pieces, some brilliant person thought this up!!" I was struck dumb. The box he picked up and was referring to came with his new fax machine...it held a printer roller thingy...and it had several fold-in/out pieces that he thought were, 1. Worthy of mentioning and 2. Worthy of mentioning after eating this bread. Wrong on both counts! I tell you this to once again point out what I deal with on a daily basis...the man is given possibly the most tasty thing to come out of this kitchen in a fortnight and he eats it like he's popping Skittles in his mouth and then foams on and on about a printer BOX!!! Godfrey!
But he came back for seconds...and thirds. And the box, brilliant as it was, went into the trash. Now, about this bread...I was inspired by Deb's Recipe, enough to want to make my own Braided Lemon Bread, and to give it the same name (I had to call it Braided Lemon Bread because that's what it is!), but that's where the similarity ends. Deb's recipe is more complicated and given it's a Smitten Kitchen recipe, I'm sure it's worth the time and effort. But since I have Mrs. Millward's Rolls down pat, I opted to use that recipe, and I also used a different filling, and purchased lemon curd. The next time I make this (and there will be a next time!), I might add a lemony glaze to the top, to make it look more like pastry so the mister will have something else to whine about.
This is not a quick recipe...easy, yes...quick, no. But if you're going to make bread, then why not make lemon bread? It's refreshing and surprising...and irresistibly good. This makes two loaves, one to keep, one to give away or you can make one loaf and use the other half of the dough to make a dozen rolls...the possibilities are endless! One more thing...since this IS bread you might be tempted to add butter to your slice...I'm certainly not going to tell you not to, but, and this is probably the only time I'll ever say this, butter is not necessary!
Braided Lemon Bread - Pots and Pins, Inspired by Smitten Kitchen
1 batch of Mrs. Millward's Rolls, click here for the recipe
For the Filling:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons sour cream
1/2 jar (10 oz.) purchased lemon curd
1/4 cup turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top of bread
zest from 1 large lemon
1 egg, beaten
Make Mrs. Millward's Rolls according to recipe. After rising the second time, punch dough down and cut in half. On a piece of parchment (necessary to lift the bread onto the baking sheet) roll out one half of dough into a large rectangle, about 20-inches long and 15-inches wide. (If needed, lightly flour rolling pin.) Make filling by combining, in a medium bowl, the cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice and sour cream. Whisk together until smooth. Divide dough rectangle into thirds, lengthwise, you can either eyeball this or make a light mark with your finger. Spread half of the lemon curd over the center third of the dough. Spread half of the filling on top of the lemon curd.
In a small bowl beat egg with 1 teaspoon of water. Lightly brush sides of the dough with egg wash. Using scissors, cut the sides of the dough into 1-inch wide strips, making sure to have an even amount of strips on each side. (See photo above.) Pull up two strips, one from each side and cross over each other, the dough will stretch a bit as you pull it up so after crossing each piece, braiding it, tuck the ends under on the opposite side. Continue until all is braided, tucking under the ends.
Lift parchment paper up and carefully place onto rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle top of the bread with half of the turbinado sugar and half of the lemon zest. Repeat with remaining dough. Lightly cover both braided breads with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise, about 45 minutes. (I didn't say this was a fast recipe!) When ready to bake, bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until loaves are a golden brown.