It's been a long time I baked a cinnamon raisin bread and so started working on it right away. The difference between the one I usually bake and this is: here the cinnamon sugar and raisins are layered in after the first rise whereas in the other recipe, they are simply kneaded in.I think I like the kneading in more than the swirling. Because I didn't roll the dough tight enough and the 'layers' started to fall apart after baking. This doesn't compromise the taste in anyway, but I think the whole step itself can be skipped to save time and sanity :-)
The bread itself is so soft and has a great crumb. I think the next time I'll skip the cinnamon-raisin part altogether and just make it into a sourdough white bread. In any case, this is a keeper recipe and we loved munching on the bread for breakfast and snack.
Ingredients: Makes 1 9"x5" loaf All purpose flour - 2cups Wholewheat Flour - 1cup (or use 3 cups of all purpose flour)
Instant Yeast - 2½tsp
Sugar - 1tbsp
Salt - 1¼tsp
Sourdough Starter (fed or unfed) - ½cup
Luke Warm Water - ⅔cup
Unsalted butter - 5tbsp, softened
Egg - 1 large (I used 1tbsp egg replacer whisked with 3tbsp water)
For the Filling:
Sugar - ¼cup
Ground Cinnamon - 1½tsp
All purpose flour - 2tsp
Raisins - ½cup
Egg - 1 large whisked with 1tbsp water (I used 2tbsp soy milk)
Method:
- To make the dough: Combine all the dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer -- mix and knead to make a soft, smooth dough.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased container, cover and allow to rise for 1~1½hours, or until its just about to double in bulk.
- While the dough is rising, make the filling by combining sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Gently deflate the dough and transfer to a lightly greased work surface.
- Roll and pat the dough into a rough 6"x18" rectangle.
- Brush the dough with the egg/water mixture or the soy milk and sprinkle it evenly with the filling and raisins.
- Starting with the short end, roll the dough into a log. Pinch the ends to seal and pinch the long seam closed.
- Transfer the log, seam side down, to a lightly greased 9"x5" loaf pan. Cover and alloow the bread to rise until it crests about 1" over the rim of the pan, about 1 hour.
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350.
- Bake the bread for 40~45 minutes -- tent it lightly with a aluminum foil after 15~20 minutes if the crust is browning too fast. Once baked, the bread's crust will be golden brown and the interior of the finished loaf will be 190 on a digital thermometer.
- Remove the bread from the oven, gently loosen the edges. Turn it out on to a wire rack and brush the top with butter, if desired, for a soft satiny crust. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.
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