Ladder Loaf

     When I was little, I remember my mom making this quite frequently and it was so delicious. So, when I saw raspberry jam at the store the other day - I decided I had to give it a shot too! I was surprised at how well it came out aesthetically and enjoyed introducing Ladder Loaf to the Hubster. 

To make Ladder Loaf, you will need:

     ♥ 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

     ♥ 1 teaspoon baking powder

     ♥ 1/2 teaspoon salt

     ♥ 1/2 cup butter or margarine

     ♥ 3 ounces yogurt or cream cheese; I used strawberry yogurt, but use whichever flavor you want.

     ♥ 1/2 cup milk

     ♥ 1/2 cup raspberry preserves (or preserves of your choice)

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Cut in the butter. Add yogurt. Pour on the milk and stir just until combined. 

Next, turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead lightly 4 or 5 times only - do not overwork the dough.

 

Using your hands or a rolling pin, roll the dough out on parchment paper into an 8 x 12 inch rectangle - or as close as you can get. Once the dough is rolled out, carefully pick up the parchment paper and dough and place onto a baking sheet. 

Mark the dough with a knife lengthwise into thirds. Spread preserves down the center third of the dough.

Make diagonal cuts every couple of inches on the outer thirds of the dough - make sure to cut them far enough into the center of the dough, but do not cut INTO the preserves. You need them long enough that they will cover the preserves in the center.

Fold strips over the preserves, first from one side, then from other (like braiding) until you have folded over all the strips of dough.
It will look like this.

 (I didn't cut far enough in on a few strips so it ended up tearing when I tried pulling it over - where the dough looks a bit messy on the right side of the photo).

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, until dough is fully cooked and lightly browned on top.

Remove from oven and let sit a few minutes. In the meantime, make the icing.

You will need:

     ♥ 1/2 cup powdered sugar

     ♥ 1 tbsp milk

     ♥ 1/4 tsp vanilla

Combine the ingredients and then drizzle over the ladder loaf. I only ended up using half of the icing. A little goes a long way.

 Enjoy this yumminess. It's fantastic. I love it; I hope you will too!

-S