Journal bethanie's Journal: Saturday Project: Cinnamon Raisin Bread [updated] 8
I haven't made this recipe before, so I'm not sure how it will turn out -- I'll add an update later on when it's done -- but I can tell you that the dough is *divine*. I love whole wheat bread doughs because they're so substantive & chewy. The flavors in this dough are *really* good, so I'm hopeful. I just gotta not screw up the baking part.
The recipe makes 3 loaves. I like baking in bulk because that means I can have one for now and freeze the other two to be used as needed. I'm going to slice at least one loaf and pull out the slices for my occasional French Toast, for which I have a *divine* recipe (provided with the proper incentives, I could probably be persuaded to post that, as well).
If today's baking is successful, I may be heartened to try GeckoFood's Tomato Bread recipe tomorrow. Of course, that also depends on Hubby being willing to wash all those dishes, too.
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Source: The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook
Fruit1 cup raisins
warm apple juice or waterPreparing the fruit: Cover the raisins with warm water or warmed apple juice (I used water, because I discovered I am OUT of apple juice! A mother of small children -- out of apple juice? Call DFACS, stat!!) and set aside to plump while you proceed with the following.
Proofing Sponge2 tablespoons or packets active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flourMaking the sponge: Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the sugar and the flour. Stir to combine, cover, and set aside until bubbly, about 15 minutes. (Note: Make sure you transfer this into a larger bowl -- I started it off in a 2-cup measure and Kiddo was quite alarmed when it began rising up over the top.)
Dough
1 1/2 cups milk, scalded (heated just to a boil)
1/2 cup sugar -- brown, white, or honey (I used half white, half brown, 'cause I like mixin' it up like that)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons cinnamon
3 beaten eggs
3 cups whole wheat flour
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water (for wash)Mixing the Dough: In a large bowl, combine the milk, sweetener, butter, salt, and cinnamon. (Since I didn't have my butter softened, I melted it in the hot milk. Aren't I smart?) Stir and let cool to lukewarm. Add the beaten eggs, the sponge, and the whole wheat flour. Combine well. Drain and add the raisins. Stir in 5 to 5 1/2 cups of flour until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. (Note: I used my Kitchenaid standing mixer for this, and it was quite a struggle to get it to stay in the bowl. I have found that any recipe with more than about 5-6 cups of flour exceeds its capacity. Still, I am too lazy to do all this mixing by hand, so I switched over to my dough hook and shoved the dough down fairly frequently until the motor began straining too much. Then I kneaded it for a bit on top of the counter.)
Keading & Rising: Turn the dough out onto a board where you've sprinkled the remainder of the flour. Scrape the bowl and add the bits to the dough. Lightly oil the bowl and set aside.
Knead the dough, adding only enough flour to keep it from sticking to the board. When it's smooth and elastic, after about 10 minutes, place it in the oiled bowl. Turn to oil all surfaces, cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel, and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Shaping & Rising: Punch down the dough, divide in thirds and let it rest for 10 minutes. Shape into loaves and place into greased bread pans. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Baking: About 15 minutes before you want to bake your bread, preheat the oven to 375 F. Brush tops of the loaves with the egg wash.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the loaves are a rich brown color. They should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Addendum: Bread's done. It turned out well.
OK, so it's great. But you have to take into consideration the experience as a whole. First of all, it's bread dough, and that's always a wonderful thing to play with. Then there's the yeast and the cinnamon, which have to be among the top 20 smells in the entire world. And frankly, they look pretty gorgeous. The egg wash is a *must*.
As for the taste? Well, let me break it down for ya, because all the other senses are just as important as the taste. The smell, as this bread is baking is *heavenly*. Seriously -- even if you never got to eat a bite, having this smell pervade your house is worth all the effort. The texture of this bread is, in my opinion, just right. The crust isn't too crusty (it could be made moreso by baking it longer) and the inside is just chewy enough. The cinnamon isn't completely overpowering, so you can taste the yeast and the wheat, and the raisins add *just* the right burst of occasional sweetness to compliment the spice.
So there you have it. Yet another baking success in Bethanie's kitchen. Wish you were here to enjoy it!
Hm... (Score:2)
Re:Hm... (Score:2)
I just started it up tonight, and haven't yet figured it out, apparently. But it's late now, so I'll have to try to tackle it tomorrow. Please bear with me.
And thanks for the brain check.
Re:Hm... (Score:2)
Anyway -- there they are. If you can't see 'em, I'll have to figure something else out.
Re:Hm... (Score:2)
i really think they need the original commentary.. (Score:1)
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kitchenaid rates standard model at 9 cups flour... (Score:2)
by kesuki (321456) Alter Relationship on Saturday September 10, @04:19PM (#13527538)
( http://kesuki.deviantart.com/ [deviantart.com] | Last Journal: Sunday September 11, @12:41AM)
so are
Kitchenaid... (Score:2)
Now...back to eating my Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi Chocolate Cake for which everybody mocks my culinary expertise. Mmmmm...yummy and oil/butter/egg free!
Re:Kitchenaid... (Score:2)
It just has limited capacity to deal with large batches of very sturdy dough -- no surprise. Doesn't hurt me a bit to pull it out and do some kneading.
Someday I will try your cake recipe. I usually prefer to make them from scratch -- but my curiosity is bound to get the better of me.
And FWIW, I got a "wild hair" (as Hubby called it) and got a 2-liter bottle of the Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi last week. Aside from the caffeine keep
Re:Kitchenaid... (Score:1)
(like seemingly everyone else on slashdot, I have the 5qt tilt head--but my momma has the largest-size (I wanna say 7qt or so) bowl-lift and I have been known to offer it small sacrifices after seeing it knead four loaves worth of bread dough)