cinnamon raisin bread

I saved the best for last this week, folks. As good as the black bean burgers were, this bread is simply indulgent (without the guilt).

With the success of turning the regular no-knead bread into a delicious cranberry walnut loaf, I got to thinking... What about cinnamon raisin? Yep, it was just as easy and even more delicious than all of the other no-knead loafs that I've made so far. I felt like I just threw all of the ingredients in a pot, forgot about it for a few hours and then I suddenly had this gorgeous loaf of incredibly fragrant and delicious cinnamon raisin bread. Pure magic, I tell you.

I'm not into super sweet things so I added just a touch of brown sugar to the dough and let the cinnamon and raisins do most of the work. If you're used to a super sweet, almost dessert like, grocery store type of cinnamon raisin bread, you might want to add more brown sugar.

You'll need a few hours but next to no thought or effort to make this bread so please promise me that you'll try to make a loaf this Saturday morning while you're hanging out in your PJ's.





Total Recipe cost: $1.24
Servings Per Recipe: 12 (1 slice each)
Cost per serving: $0.10
Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 30 min. Rise time: 3.5 hrs Total: 4 hrs 15 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1 cup	whole wheat flour	$0.16
2.25 cups	bread flour	$0.33
2 Tbsp	brown sugar	$0.04
1.25 tsp	salt	$0.05
.75 Tbsp	instant yeast	$0.20
1/2 cup	raisins	$0.31
1 Tbsp	cinnamon	$0.15
1.25 cups	warm water	$0.00
TOTAL		$1.24

STEP 1: In a large pot or bowl, combine the flours, brown sugar, salt, yeast and raisins. Stir everything until evenly mixed (break up any raisin clumps).

STEP 2: Add the warm water and stir. If the dough does not come into one cohesive ball (with no dry bits left at the bottom of the bowl) add a little more water, one tablespoon at a time, until it all comes together (see photos below). Loosely cover the bowl and let it rest for 2 hours at room temperature.

STEP 3: After two hours the dough will have risen and grown to about twice the size. It will be a rough looking, shaggy ball of dough. Turn it out onto a floured surface. Give it maybe one or two turns or "kneads" in the flour just to work in enough flour to keep it from sticking to your hands. Flatten and stretch the dough into a long rectangle. The short side of the rectangle should be the same length as your bread pan, the long side double that.

STEP 4: Sprinkle the cinnamon over the surface of the rectangle. If you want a sweeter bread, you can sprinkle on some additional brown sugar with the cinnamon. Roll the rectangle up and place it in a bread pan coated with non-stick spray. Let the bread rise for 1.5 hours or until it has risen up and out of the pan.

STEP 5: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Brush the top of the bread with water and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the top is a deep golden brown. After baking, turn it out of the bread pan onto a wire cooling rack. Let cool completely before slicing.

Step By Step Photos

Put all of the dry ingredients in big pot or bowl. Mix them all up until evenly combined. This takes about 5 minutes, I did it while I was making my morning coffee.


Add the 1.25 cups of warm water. My flour must have been really dry because the mix was still all dry and crumbly. If you need more water, add one or two Tbsp at a time until it comes together in one ball. It is better to be a tad too wet than too dry.


After adding a little more water, it was perfect - all in one ball. See, no more dry bits on the bottom of the pot. Loosely cover and let sit for two hours at room temperature.


After two hours it will look like this (above); big, shaggy, expanded.


Turn that shaggy, sticky ball of dough out onto a floured surface and knead it maybe one or two times (no more necessary, seriously) or just until it's not sticking to your hands. Work the dough into a long rectangle with the short side being the same length as your bread pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the surface. If you want sweeter dough, sprinkle some brown sugar on there too.


Roll the dough rectangle up.


Place the rolled up dough in a bread pan coated with non-stick spray.


Let the dough rise for another 1-1.5 hours... or however long it takes to get to this size (this will depend on how warm your house is). Go enjoy your Saturday while the bread does it's own thing.


Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, brush the top with water and bake for about 30 minutes or until the crust is a deep golden brown.


Turn the bread out of it's pan onto a wire rack to cool. Let it cool completely before slicing (or risk squishing your bread... you decide. I know it's hard to resist warm cinnamon raisin bread).



This bread is so good that I might just make it every weekend for the rest of my life. I've eaten it toasted with butter (yummy), then toasted with peanut butter (OMG, YUM) and then as a peanut butter & banana sandwich (WHHHAAAT? TOO DELICIOUS TO HANDLE!). That really was my thought progression.

**EDIT**

- The bread pan is 4"x 8" and about 3 inches deep (the top flares out a bit and is more like 5x9).

- When you roll the dough up, stretch as you roll... the more it's rolled, the more swirl you'll have.

- I sprayed the top of the loaf lightly with non-stick spray before letting it rise so that the top would stay pliable and allow it to expand.

- You can use all regular flour instead of a mix of whole wheat and bread flours but I think the whole wheat gives it more texture and flavor.

- A few chopped nuts would also be AH-MAZ-ING in there... mix them in with the dry ingredients in the beginning.