Tuesday, June 15, 2010

TWD: Raisin Swirl Bread

There are only two things in which I will eat cooked raisins. One of them is oatmeal raisin cookies. The other is cinnamon raisin bread. Woo hoo for this week's recipe!

I was reading the P & Q section, and I was surprised by how many people are intimidated by baking with yeast. Maybe it's because I've been baking for so many years, but yeast doesn't phase me at all. I use this yeast, and it's never failed me. It doesn't require proofing, which is one of the steps that may mess with people.

This was an easy recipe to put together. Thank you Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I used mostly skim milk instead of whole. I used nutmeg and vanilla. I also used this - Sweet Dough Flavor. I love the stuff. It smells like bakery and adds just the right "something" to sweet doughs. I did my first rise on Sunday night and refrigerated the dough overnight.

I was a bit concerned this morning because it had begun to rise again in the fridge. I was worried that the yeast was running out of steam for what would be essentially a third rise. The cold dough was so easy to roll out. I spread the butter and sprinkled on the cinnamon mix as well as the raisins. A quick roll up and into the pan for a rise. It did take longer than 45 minutes to crown over the top of the pan, but crown it did. It also took longer to bake than the recipe states. I baked for an extra 16 minutes. My handy Thermapen told me that it was only 155 degrees after the initial 45 minutes. That would have given me a gooey center. At 61 minutes, it was 195 degrees. Perfect.

Mmmmm. Golden brown and delicious!

The kids were clambering for me to cut into the loaf, but it needed to cool. Finally, we were able to slice. What a wonderful loaf! I love the swirls. There was a little air room at the top of the loaf, but it didn't matter. The flavor was slightly sweet and the pockets of raisins were perfect. I like the touch that the cocoa added. It wasn't overtly chocolate, it just added an extra taste. I'm pretty sure I'll be making this one again.

Just look at that swirl!

The boy really enjoyed this one!

Thanks, Susan of Food.Baby for picking this one!

15 comments:

Cakelaw said...

I loved this one too. Sweet Dough Flavour - sounds interesting!

Leslie said...

Look at that beautiful loaf! I also did my rise in the fridge and I liked that it made it easy to make this for breakfast. I had an air pocket too but nobody complained. If they complain, I say no bread for them!

spike. said...

you're so brave- I had to skip the raisins.

Kayte said...

It all looks wonderful, but my favorite shot is The Boy with his slice...very cute! I am a little partial to little boys with homemade food in their hands and a smile on their face...it's why I bake! I use the same yeast and love it, too. I use the gold for sweet breads, so for this one I used the gold version of the yeast. I will be making this again also (esp. when I am out of bread flour and have oranges in the house).

dharmagirl said...

what a lovely loaf! i'm not a raisin fan, but yours looks so perfect and right nestled into the swirl:)

Flourchild said...

No raisins for me, I added cinnamon chips instead! Your boy is darling, glad he liked the bread. My son is 12 and he loved it!

Peggy said...

I loved the raisens in mine. Your loaf is fabulous. I do get a bit intimidated by yeast, but this recipe worked out well.

Tia said...

i used to be scared of yeast but now the majority of my stuff is yeasted. Love it!

Kimberly Johnson said...

Your bread looks fantastic!

Heather Davis said...

I agree having s stand alone mixer made this a sinch to make. I really enjoy making breads with yeast. This was especially good and not to difficult. Yours looks great!

Beryl said...

Picture perfect swirl! Great job!

Katrina said...

Perfect looking loaf and great swirl. I can't wait to make this sometime. I was afraid the guys wouldn't eat it, so I made cinnamon rolls--great dough for that, too! I will certainly make this bread sometime though!

Susan said...

What a beautiful loaf of bread! I loved this recipe. I will definitely make it again.

TeaLady said...

Looks just perfect. Great swirl.

Anonymous said...

It looks wonderful! I use that yeast too, and it works great.