Bread Baking Babes August Bake: Yeasted Blueberry Coffee Cake

The Babes challenge for August takes advantage of the summer fruit bounty (if possible), and the components can be prepared ahead of time to fit into busy schedules. The recipe comes from Zoë François and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  I always look forward to seeing how the bakers customize their breads based on individual preferences.

Won't you join us for the August bake?


Yeasted Blueberry Coffee Cake

Bread part:

Brioche

Ingredients:

Lukewarm water:  1 ½ cups/12 ounces/340 grams 

Granulated yeast:  1 tablespoon/.35 ounce/10 grams

Kosher salt:  1 tablespoon/.6 ounce/17 grams

Large eggs, lightly beaten:  6/12 ounces/340 grams

Honey:  ½ cup/6 ounces/170 grams

Unsalted butter, melted:  1 ½ cups (3 sticks)/12 ounces/340 grams

All-purpose flour:  7 cups/2 pounds, 3 ounces/990 grams

1.      Mix the water, yeast, salt, eggs, honey, and melted butter in a 6-quart bowl or a lidded container.

2.      Mix in the flour without kneading, using a Danish dough whisk, a spoon, or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle).  The dough will be loose but will firm up when chilled; don’t try to work with it before chilling.

3.      Cover, loosely, allow to rest at room temperature for 2 hours, and then refrigerate.

4.     The dough can be used as soon as it is thoroughly chilled, at least 3 hours.  Refrigerate the container and use over the next 5 days.

The recipe can be halved.  If you halve it, try to use a 3-quart container.  (In a 2-quart container, the dough will rise above the top.)  Even a half recipe will provide enough dough for two separate bakes.

Blueberry Skillet Jam

5 cups fresh or frozen wild blueberries (6 cups if you aren’t using the wild ones, since they are bigger)

1 cup sugar

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Cook the berries, sugar and lemon juice until the fruit juices are thick enough that you can run the spoon across the bottom of the pan and it doesn’t immediately fill in. It should be the consistency of honey.

I’m assuming a skillet was used; I used a small sauce pan, so the jam took longer to thicken.

You are welcome to experiment with other fruits.

This can be made ahead.



Streusel Topping

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

In a bowl mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the soft butter and work it into the sugar mixture with your fingers.

This can be made ahead.

Assembly:

Take 12 ounces of the brioche dough, or 16 ounces if you are using a 9” springform pan. (You can also use Whole Wheat brioche dough.)

Divide the dough into 3 pieces, shape them into balls and then roll out into disks that will fit comfortably into the springform pan.  It’s okay if the edges go up slightly on the sides.

Lay one of the disks into the pan.

Cover with 1/3 of the jam, spreading out, but not quite to the edges.

Repeat this with the remaining two disks of dough and jam.

Cover the pan and allow to rest for 1 hour to 1 1/l2 hours, depending on the warmth of the kitchen.

While the coffee cake is resting and rising, set out or prepare the streusel topping.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Add the streusel to the pan just before baking, otherwise it will get soggy from the jam.
Just scatter it over the top, so it is still in pieces, don’t press it down.

Bake for about 45 minutes. Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing the sides of the pan.

Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting to allow the bread layers to set or cool longer and serve room temperature.

Have a slice!

The original recipe is here.
 

If you would like to bake along with us as a Buddy, send me a description of what you did and some photographs by August 29th, and I will publish them in the Buddy Roundup and send you a Buddy Badge.  Email is jahunt22 at gmail.com.

Hope you enjoy it!