BreadYear – bread recipes and confessions

Orange Bowknots

adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, 12th edition

Ingredients

• 5 to 5 1/2 cups flour
• 1 packet of active dry yeast (2 1/3 teaspoons)
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• Orange Icing (see below)

Directions

1. Combine 2 cups of the flour with the yeast. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, butter, sugar, and salt until the butter is mostly melted. Add to the flour mixture. Add the two eggs and beat with a mixer until a batter forms. Be sure to scrape the sides. Beat on high for 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the orange zest and orange juice. Using a dough hook (or a wooden spoon if you’re doing this part manually), continue mixing in the flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away and becomes elastic and smooth. Knead for several minutes (hooray for the dough hook) and form into a ball. Place in a greased bowl, covered with a towel, for an hour or until it’s doubled in size.

3. Punch the dough down and divide into two. Allow the dough to rest for 5-10 minutes, covered. Grease two baking sheets while you’re waiting for the dough.

4. Roll each portion into a 12×7 inch rectangle. Cut each rectangle into 1 inch strips (a pizza cutting wheel works well for this). Loosely tie each strip into a knot. Cover and let the bowknots rise for about 30 minutes.

5. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until golden. Immediately remove from the baking sheets and allow to cool on wire racks.

6. Once cool, drizzle each bowknot with the orange icing (recipe below).

Notes

My bowknots were a little dark on the bottom, probably due to my new non-stick cookie sheets. I ended up making a lot of the icing, because the bowknots aren’t very sweet on their own – they’re more like orange-flavored rolls. I’m looking forward to having one of these with my coffee tomorrow morning.

Orange Icing

adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, 12th edition

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, preferably sifted
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/4 cup orange juice

Directions

Add orange zest to the powdered sugar. Slowly add the orange juice while whisking. Add just enough orange juice to make the icing thin enough to drizzle.