Nice Swirl; Bad Seam

Still baking away most days, and on occasion something happens where I learn something new. On this loaf of whole wheat cinnamon raise bread I did something right, and something wrong — at the same time.

First the good news. The swirl inside my loaf is nice, tight and symmetric, which I think reflects that my dough was shaped in a nice rectangle of even thickness before I rolled it; and it kept it tight while I rolled it, without stretching it out of shape. It’s easier to slice and toast, and well, it just looks better.

For the not so good news, cinnamon and sugar melted and leaked out the bottom of the loaf where I had tried to seal the seam. The key word here is “tried”, as I clearly did not properly seal the loaf at the bottom. Sealing the dough is a big part of many loaf shaping processes, where the seam is permanent and the loaf holds its shape as it evenly balloons outward while it proofs. Seeing the “leak” is a good lesson — visual proof that I did nothing wrong.

As always, it’s great eating my experiments.