Cinnamon Raisin bread was one of the first things I made for this account, so I decided to give it a revisit! This recipe reminds me of my first few deployments when one of the culinary specialists onboard would occasionally make freshly baked bread and cinnamon butter for people working late at night. This is such an easy recipe to make and a great treat to bring to your coworkers (I promise, they’ll appreciate it!)
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Ingredients
Dough
- 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (688g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk (355g), lukewarm
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (67g)
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter (43g), melted + more for greasing
Filling
- 1 1/2 cups raisins (225g)
- 1/3 cup apple cider (79g)
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter (57g), melted
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (100g)
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- cinnamon sugar for dusting, optional (1/2 cup sugar/2 tbsp cinnamon ratio)
Instructions
- To make the dough, add the 1/4 cup milk and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer, letting the yeast dissolve for a few minutes. Add the rest of the milk, the sugar, salt, butter, and eggs, and whisk until combined.
- Add the paddle attachment, and with the mixer on medium-low speed, slowly add 4-5 cups of flour for about 2 minutes. Swich to the dough hook and add the remaining flour on low speed, until the dough is stiff and a little tacky. This phase should take about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the smooth dough to a large greased bowl, then cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm space until doubled in size, about 1.5-2 hours. While the dough is rising, grease two 9"x5" loaf pans liberally with butter.
- To prepare the raisins (rehydrating them is key!) bring the cider to a low boil in a small saucepan and then reduce heat to simmer until the cider has reduced by about half, ~10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the raisins, cover the saucepan and let them sit until tready to use.
- Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Drain the raisins and knead them into the dough a few at a time for a few minutes until all the raisins have been well incorporated into the dough. Return the dough to the bowl to rise again for another 30 minutes.
- Punch the dough down again and devide into two even halves, setting one aside. Roll the half out to a 16"x8" rectangle and brush with some of the melted butter. In a small bowl mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together, and lightly toss half the mixture over the buttered dough. Starting on one of the short sides, roll up the dough tightly into a log, then place the dough log into one of the prepared pans seam side down, making sure to tuck the ends down underneath. Brush the top with more melted butter and dust with cinnamon sugar (optional). repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- cover the loaves gently with a towel and let them rise at room tem for 45 minutes – 1 hour, they should puff up to just above the edge of the loaf pan.
- While the loaves rise, preheat the oven to 400°F. When ready to bake, bake the loaves for 10 minutes and then reduce the temp to 350°F, baking for another 25-35 minutes, until the loaves sound hollow when tapped and a termometer reads an internal temp of 190°F.
- Remove the loaves from their pans after 5 minutes and allow them to cool to room temp on wire racks.
- Enjoy!
