Cinnamon Raisin Bread
A tried-and-true favorite, this moist, fruity loaf is delicious, especially when toasted and served with hot chocolate. Use it to make French toast and cream cheese and jelly sandwiches, too.
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
1 heaping cup dark and/or golden raisins (try currants or chopped dates as well!)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar, divided
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon active dry yeast or 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water, 110°F
5 1/2 to 6 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Combine and heat the milk and butter (on the stove or in the microwave) until just hot to the touch (about 120°F). Transfer to a large bowl and add the raisins or other fruit, oat flakes, 1/2 cup brown sugar, salt and cinnamon; stir well and set aside.
In a separate bowl, dissolve the remaining tablespoon of brown sugar and active dry yeast in the water and let sit until bubbles appear. (If you're using instant yeast, skip this step; simply add all of the remaining ingredients to the milk mixture once it's cooled to lukewarm.) When the milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add the yeast mixture and mix well. Stir in the unbleached flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes by hand, adding additional flour only as necessary to prevent sticking. You can also do this whole process in the bowl of an electric mixer, kneading the dough for 5 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat it on all sides, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a cozy place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Knock down the dough, knead briefly on a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Shape into loaves and place into two lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (mmm... we can smell the cinnamon already!), until nicely browned. Near the end of the baking time, if the loaves are getting dark too quickly, cover them with a piece of aluminum foil, shiny-side up. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
A Few Thoughts
For a bit of crunch, add 1/2 cup chopped nuts along with the dried fruit. For fancier-looking loaves, drizzle them with a glaze of 1 to 2 tablespoons milk mixed into 2 cups confectioners' sugar. Last, but not least, keep experimenting!
Reviews
05/23/2010
I haven't finished yet, but I know this will be delicious already (I know I'm weird) I tasted the dough, mmmmm sooooo goooood! And the weather is perfect for the dough to rise! Yay! I can't wait to try the finished bread
04/27/2010
This recipe has great flavor. I used all whole-wheat flour. I only put in about 4 cups, and used one packet of yeast which wasn't enough. (Suprising, because at high altitude, you can usually use less.) Next time, I'll stop incorporating flour when the dough tells me to, and I'll use a little extra yeast.
03/02/2010
Very tasty and my family loved it. I made the dough in my bread machine which was probably not a good idea. It did not raise at all, so I added yeast and kneaded by hand, then gave the bread one more rise. It came out great. Not sure if the problem was due to adding the raisins at the beginning (rather than when the machine beeps for additions) or??? Could the raisins--along with the sugar in the recipe -- have killed the yeast? Any suggestions/tips on converting recipes to the bread machine's dough cycle? Thanks.
Generally it is a good idea to add the fruit half way through the knead cycle. Most machines have some sort of signal to let you know when. Too much sugar can make the yeast sluggish, but not kill it. Most recipes that make aloaf that fits your machine, can be kneaded in the machine.Mary@ KAF
02/10/2010
12/19/2009
This was my first time baking a yeast bread. I was a little nervous and could not get more than 4 cups of flour incorportated in. So, we have a very dense loaf of bread but it is so delicious. Perfect since we are going to be snowed in this weekend! I did put the glaze on and it did not overpower the inside. There is a great cinnamon after taste. I am definitely going to make this again. My 1 other mistake was to start this at night time. I went to bed during the first rising. In the future, I will start this in the morning to have as an after school snack.
You'll find you can incorporate different amounts of flour, using the recipe as a guide....some days the dough will take less than the written amounts, sometimes more. Let the dough tell you how much it will absorb...use the consistency as your guide. The dough should fell soft and supple like your cheek. This will give you the soft (read less dense here!) texture you seek. Irene @ KAF
02/13/2009
This recipe is easy to make and turns out two GREAT loaves of very tasty bread. One suggestion I have is after the dough is formed and put into the bread pans, let it rise until the dough is at least to the top of the bread pan and even a little over. You'll get a taller loaf that isn't quite so dense and it's VERY popular around this house....
Bookmark/share
this recipe