This raisin bread is soft and tender, with a light cinnamon flavor and speckled with raisins. It reminds me a little of bread you get from the bakery. It’s simply delicious with butter and honey, eaten plain or turned into toast. It’s definitely a must!!
I got this recipe from The All New Purity Cookbook, published by Whitecap Books (2001). This cookbook was first published in 1967 and my mom has the original — it’s one of my favorite cookbooks!
Here’s the original recipe:
For today’s recipe, I have adjusted the original slightly, omitting some of the sugar and salt, decreasing the raisins along with a few other ingredient changes, but it still turned out wonderfully!
Let’s get started!
Melt butter. Add milk. Heat until warm. Combine milk, butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon together. Combine yeast, water and 1 tsp sugar. Let sit 5 minutes. Dump yeast into milk mixture. Stir.
Pour raisins into bowl and soak in hot water for 5 minutes.
Drain raisins and add to milk mixture along with 1 cup flour.
Add 1 cup whole wheat flour or you can use regular flour. Stir well.
Add another cup of flour. Stir well.
Add another cup of flour. Stir well.
Add one more cup of flour. Stir well.
Time to knead!
Sprinkle a little flour on counter and dump dough onto floured surface. Start to knead. Knead until no longer sticky but just tacky. If you wish to knead longer, you can do so.
I cut the dough in half because this will make 2 loaves.
I dusted each with flour and kneaded them.
Place in oiled bowl. Lightly oil the top of the dough. Cover and let rise 1 hour.
The dough has risen nicely. It’s so light and airy.
Time to shape into a loaf. Lightly grease pan, shape into a loaf, pinch bottom and place in pan. Let rise 30 minutes. My daughter did one loaf and I did the other.
Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.
We decided to slice into the loaf I made first. It’s so soft!
Once cold, this bread slices so easily!
It’s so delicious with butter and a bit of honey.
I definitely recommend this recipe if you love raisin bread with a bit of cinnamon. You can easily omit the cinnamon, substitute it for different spices like nutmeg or even increase the spices. It’s a lovely bread.
Raisin Bread
1-1/2 cups milk — I used 1/4 cup cream and 1-1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 tbsp instant yeast
1 cup raisins soaked for 5 minutes in hot water
2-1/2 cups to 5-1/2 cups flour — I used 4 cups white flour and 1 cup whole wheat
Melt butter. Add milk and heat until warm. Add sugar, salt and cinnamon.
Combine water, 1 tsp sugar and yeast. Stir. Let sit 5 minutes. Pour into milk mixture.
Add 1 cup flour and drained raisins. Stir well. Add flour one cup at a time until dough forms. Knead until no longer sticky, just tacky. Place in oiled bowl. Cover and let rise 1 hour.
Shape into loaf and place in lightly greased loaf pan. Let rise 30 minutes. Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Let cool completely before slicing.
enjoy from Our City Homestead to yours