I've never been to Club Med, and in the aftermath of the paleo and low-carb crazes, I'm startled to learn that they still are known for handing out loaves of...bread to guests. Still, since I'm never going to go to Club Med nor demonize carbohydrates, I was happy to bake Rose's version of the Club Med, a slightly lighter and more bread-like version, a variant on her cinnamon toast bread. Since it's one of those recipe variants that is actually just the same recipe with a different filling, I was tempted by the original and some golden raisins found their way in to my white chocolate bread.
The recipe is fairly simple--overnight sponge rise, butter incorporation (it's a light brioche), rest, rise, shape, rise, bake. Rose suggests wrapping the rolled and shaped loaf in a little skin of dough so that it looks like non-white-chocolate bread on the outside and then all the little pockets of goo are a surprise. As you can see from that twisted and misshapen shot above, mine did some escaping from its respectability blanket, resulting in delicious caramelized bits of white chocolate.
As you can see from the slice shots, though, the general shape and character and crumb were flawless. I stuffed these hastily cut slices into my bag, slammed the rest into the freezer, and took off on an 8 hour train and van journey to Lake Placid, NY. I had packed many snacks for the train, but none of them savory, so after 8 hours of white chocolate bread, yogurt raisins, and apples, I was losing my mind. Definitely buying sandwiches or just straight jerky for the ride home.
The bread was delicious--light crumb, gooey bits, raisins... It will, as advertised, make a great toast bread and possibly a good bread pudding.
