Thursday, July 30, 2009

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

breadcinnamonraisin

This was inspired by Wendy of Pinkstripes. After seeing her BBA post, I knew I had to make it right away. I omitted the walnuts, but added a cinnamon swirl and reduced the raisins to 1 cup. She's right, this bread is very addicting! I had a hard time taking photos without reaching out for a slice. I didn't even get a picture of the uncut loaf or wait the hour for it to cool because I was too anxious to dig into it. The only thing that bothers me when I bake bread are the large and irregular holes. Is it from not punching the dough down after the first rise? I have this fear that if I handle the dough too much, I'm going to kill the yeast and it won't rise the second time. This reminds me when I had my bouts of undermixing cake batter from fear of overmixing during my 'throwing out more than I was eating' phase. For the bread experts out there, can you please help me. The unevenness of my crumb is driving me crazy!

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe
Peter Reinhart

19 comments:

  1. oh cinnamon and raisin bread is one of my weakest points . I can t resist it. Wish I could just grab it it looks delicious!

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  2. Actually I wouldn't worry about the irregular holes-- I think in some circles those are very sought-after! Beautiful crumb you have there, in fact! :)

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  3. I think the holes give it texture and personality. It's like a happy bread or something :)

    Ever feel weird baking yeast bread? It's a living thing, so it's just different to me.

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  4. The bread looks great! I have the same problems with my yeast breads but have decided that I like the "artisan" look they give - LOL.

    I wonder if this would be good with dried cherries or cranberries?

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  5. Oh, that looks sooo good. Can't wait to try it.

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  6. Your bread looks perfect. I thought it was supposed to have those holes. Sorry no help here. I do though think you are being too critical of yourself! :)
    ~ingrid

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  7. Pinkstripes is my hero.

    Glad you made this .. yours look DELISH!

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  8. Lovely! The holes are nothing to worry about, IMO.

    You do want to punch down your dough though. I'm very heavy with my kneading/punching down and I have never killed off the yeast. I think kneading might even help wake it up, but I'm not sure where I heard that.

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  9. I adore cinnamon raisin bread! This look delish!

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  10. You bread looks perfect. I am dying to try this!

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  11. you can charge a lot more for it when you open your bakery if it has holes! (hee hee) - I'll be making this soon and I can't wait. Yours looks fantastic.

    btw I still think that cookie picture right below is absolutely incredibly gorgeous!

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  12. I like the look of your bread! You should do an experiment since you like it so much. Do another loaf, but punch it down and reshape the dough after the first. I think this helps develop the gluten in flour, and releases some of the gas from the yeast. It might help you to get a tighter crumb. I'm not an expert though so I might not have that just right.
    Do you ever visit the King Arthur Baker's Banter blog. They have a lot of good info there and on their web site.

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  13. Honestly, I've only made homemade bread in a bread machine bc of all the kneading and rising. I'm horrible, I know haha According to my book, the holes happened because of one of the following:

    1. too much water
    2. too much yeast or yeast action was accelerated by hot, humid weather or overheated ingredients
    3. salt was omitted
    4. drain fruit/veggies well and pat dry before adding

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  14. Cinnamon Raisin Bread has been my favorite since I was a little girl. Nothing has changed about that. Looking at your bread opened the floodgates to memories.

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  15. Don't worry about the holes! Your bread is gorgeous. I love cinnamon raisin bread.

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  16. I think your bread looks great! No worries about holes. Your pictures make me miss my bread. :P

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  17. try using real Cinnamon in your recipe and reduce on the coumarin intake

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