My Cure for Night Duty - Pecan Cinnamon-Streusel Bread

Night duty can be hell:  It plays tricks with your body clock, staffing levels drop to a disconcertingly low number, and patients always seem to get worse overnight.  You never know what you’re in for when you walk into the ward.  It may be easy-peezy, but can just as readily turn into a complete nightmare.

One thing I love about night duty, though, is the camaraderie.  Since there aren’t many of us working, we all have to depend upon each other to get through the shift, and we take care of each other.  Working night duty brings a whole new meaning to “team effort.”  Of course, one of the ways we show our love is through food.  (Isn’t that always the case?)  We bring in treats to fuel our sugar cravings and help power us through the inherent exhaustion.

This week, my contribution to our junk-food addiction was a play on the Cinnamon Swirl bread my mom used to bake when I was growing up.  It was always my favorite breakfast treat, so I thought I would play with the recipe and dress it up a little.  What I ended up creating was absolutely delicious… Pecan Cinnamon-Streusel Bread.  It was everything I had hoped it would, and more.  So, see below for the recipe.  I highly recommend you give it a go.  Enjoy!

Pecan Cinnamon-Streusel Bread

 Ingredients:

Bread:

¼ cup butter, melted

1 1/3 cups sugar, divided

1 egg

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Streusel:

1/4 cup white sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced

1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). 

Make the streusel:  In a food processor, combine sugar, flour, and salt and mix to combine.  Add butter and mix until crumbly and the butter pieces are very small, and the mixture resembles sand.  Add pecans and mix to combine.  (This can also be done by hand by first cubing the butter into small pieces and using a fork to combine the sugar and butter.  Then add flour in small amounts, using your fingers to rub the mixture together.  Continue adding flour until the mixture resembles sand.)

Make the batter:  In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, 1 cup sugar, and egg.  Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture alternately with the buttermilk. 

In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and remaining 1/3 cup sugar.  Pour a third of the batter into a greased 8X4X2-inch loaf pan.  Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar and chopped pecans on top of batter.  Repeat layers twice, sprinkling the top layer with the streusel topping.  

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  (Hint - If the streusel browns too quickly, loosely place a piece of aluminum foil on top to allow the bread to fully cook.)