Whole Grain Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipes

Steps:

• Put the warm water, sugar and yeast into the bowl on the Bosch (or your mixer of choice) and stir gently.
• Add melted butter, lecithin, wheat gluten, cinnamon and salt and mix until combined. (I only used 2 tsp of cinnamon when I made this recipe and wished, when I had finished, that I had used more. The cinnamon flavor was only mildly discernible and next time I will definitely double that, so go by your own personal taste, as to how much seems right.)
• Mix in about 3½ cups of the flour and then in small increments, gradually add just what you need to complete the dough. In total for this batch, I used 4½ cups of flour.
• (After all my bread posts, you are probably tired of hearing this, but it is really important if you want the best possible bread. Humidity will dramatically affect the amount of flour you need to make bread dough. Add a portion of what is called for, mix it in and then begin adding flour in 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup intervals, mixing and adding more when needed, until the dough in your machine just starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and leaves the bowl sides clean. The dough will be very soft, but not sticky to the touch. That is perfect dough.).
• Add the grain and raisins and mix until incorporated. (See below for a tip on baking with raisins.).
• Knead on power level 2 for seven minutes or turn onto a floured board and knead by hand for ten to fifteen minutes.
• Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a warm, damp tea towel and let rise until doubled in size.
• Punch down the dough. Knead slightly until it forms a smooth ball. Divide in half.
• Form each half into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan. Cover with a warm, damp tea towel and let rise until doubled in size.
• Bake in a 350° oven for 35-40 minutes. Brush tops of loaves lightly with butter. Remove from pans onto cooling rack to cool before slicing.
• To see the complete step-by-step pictorial instructions for this recipe, visit my blog at http://busy-at-home.com/blog/?p=3546.
• **The promised tip for baking with raisins** If your raisins are particularly dried, they can often scorch and have an almost burnt, bitter taste after further dehydrating in your oven. So, before I add them to mixtures I will be baking, I measure them into a microwave safe container, completely cover them in water and microwave on full power for 1 - 2 minutes. I leave them in that warm water while I mix the rest of my ingredients and then thoroughly drain them just before adding them to my dough or batter. They are plump, juicy and sweet even after the baking is complete.

Steps:

• Soak raisins beforehand in some warm water.
• In a large bowl, combine all the white flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, salt, and cinnamon.
• In another bowl, mix warm water and canola oil.
• Gradually add warm water mixture to flour mixture.
• Beat together, then stir in raisins and whole wheat flour. Stir until mixture is consistent.
• Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
• Divide into 3 balls and place in loaf pan. Cover; let rise in warm, place until doubled in size, about 1 to 1.5 hours.
• Bake at 350F for 30 to 35 minutes or until done.
• Remove from pans; cool on wire rack. Brush with melted butter.

Steps:

• Make the dough.
• Measure out 1 1/4 cups very warm water and check the temperature; it should be 120 degrees F to 130 degrees F. Combine both flours, the dry milk, egg, canola oil, honey, salt, yeast and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix 3 minutes on the lowest setting, then increase to the next highest setting and mix 5 more minutes. The dough should be soft and sticky.
• Let it rise.
• Transfer the dough to a large bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough has nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour, 30 minutes.
• Soak the raisins.
• Dry raisins will rob moisture from the bread, so soak them first in boiling water until plump, about 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
• Fold the dough.
• Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Picture it as a loose square. Lift up one side of the dough and fold about one-third of it across; press down on the dough with spread fingers to remove any air bubbles. Repeat with the remaining 3 sides of the dough.
• Add the filling.
• Mist two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. Divide the dough in half; roll out each half into an 8-inch square. Brush each square with canola oil, then sprinkle with the cinnamon (it's high in antioxidants!), brown sugar and raisins.
• Form the loaves.
• Roll up each square of dough into a tight cylinder; place seam-side down in the prepared pans. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough fills the pans and springs back when touched, about 1 hour, 30 minutes.
• Bake the bread.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the loaves with canola oil and bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the pans and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring raisins and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup liquid. Stir oats into reserved liquid; set raisins and oat mixture aside. , In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in honey; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the eggs, milk powder, salt, cinnamon, whole wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour and oat mixture. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining all-purpose flour to form a firm dough. Stir in raisins (dough will be sticky). , Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; shape into two loaves. Place in two 9x5-in. loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes. , Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Cover loosely with foil if tops brown too quickly. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.