I love cinnamon raisin bread and this recipe from King Arthur Flour makes a great one! The downside of putting cinnamon in a dough though is that it inhibits yeast development a bit and rising can be sloooow. Be patient though and you will be rewarded. This bread makes great French Toast!
I made this March 19, 2009 but never did get around to taking a photo of it. Next time (and there will be a next time!). I added the optional glaze which was yummy. Of course it was un-toastable though, so next time I think I’ll glaze one and leave the other one plain so I can toast it. I only needed 5 cups of flour. I used Fleishmann’s instant yeast and the dough doubled in about 2 hours. After the loaves were shaped though, it took another 2 hour rise to get to the point where I felt I could bake it (just peeking over the edge of the pan). My two small loaves took 40 minutes in the oven.
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Summary: This is a lovely cinnamon raisin bread. I love the addition of oats to the dough. Makes great French Toast.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
- 1 heaping cup dark and/or golden raisins
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon (I used only 5 tsp.)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast (I used instant)
- 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached all-purpose)
Instructions
- 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 (or the bowl of your stand mixer) and add the raisins or other fruit, oat flakes, 1/2 cup brown sugar, salt and cinnamon; stir well and set aside or let stand.
- (If using active dry yeast, proof yeast with 1 Tbsp. brown sugar and 1/2 cup water then proceed from *).
- In a separate bowl, add the yeast to the flour and mix thoroughly. *When the milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm, stir in the 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 (Mine took 2 hours to double).
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until nicely browned (Mine needed 40 minutes). 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.
- Optional Glaze:
- Drizzle them with a glaze of 1 to 2 tablespoons milk mixed into 2 cups confectioners’ sugar (Makes plenty of glaze. If glazing only one loaf, use half these amounts).
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 2 hours 45 min
Number of servings (yield): 2
