Honey Whole-Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread

"Cinnamon & Sugar", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). Cinnamon and sugar, a perfect combination. And Ellie's Krieger's Honey Whole-Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread fits that perfect combination perfectly.

Ellie's recipe uses an equal amount of bread flour and wholewheat flour, but I wanted a lighter bread, so I've reduced the wholewheat flour slightly and increase the amount of bread flour. I've made half a recipe for one loaf of bread. The bread is very easy to make, instructions are straight-forward. While the the bread is baking, it smells so "cinnamony" nice. For the filling, I've used slightly more of the ground cinnamon than listed in the recipe.

This is a lovely and delicious loaf of bread. The bread is soft and smells so good with the cinnamon, sugar and the raisins. It stays soft on the next day too. I had slices of this bread with a cup of coffee, so nice!  This recipe is a keeper.


**my measurement for half a recipe to make one loaf, listed in blue
Honey Whole-Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread
(adapted from "Comfort Food Fix", Ellie Krieger)
Makes 16 servings
2 cups bread flour (1-1/2 cup)
2 cups wholewheat flour (3/4 cup)
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk (2 tablespoons)
1-1/4 cups very warm water (120F to 130F) (use slightly less than 1/2 cup)
1 large egg (lightly beaten, then use half the amount)
3 tablespoons canola oil (1-1/2 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons honey (1-1/2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon salt (1/2 teaspoon)
1-1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast (3/4 teaspoon)
Nonstick cooking spray
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (1 tablespoon)
1/2 cup golden raisins, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes, drained and patted dry (1/4 cup)

Place the flours, dry milk, water, egg, 2 tablespoons of  the oil, honey, salt, and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on the lowest setting ("stir") for 3 minutes, then increase to the next highest setting ("2") and mix 5 minutes more. The dough should be soft and fairly sticky. (I knead the dough in the stand mixer with the dough hook attachment for about 12-15 minutes).

Place the dough in a bowl sprayed with cooking spray, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature until its size has nearly doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.

Spray two 9x5x3-inch baking pans with baking spray.

Transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface. Pick up one side of the dough, lifting about a third of the bulk and fold it across. With spread fingers, pat down on the dough to remove most of the trapped gases. Repeat with the remaining three sides of the dough.

Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a flat square, about 8x8 inches. Brush each square with some of the remaining oil. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1/4 cup raisins over each square. Roll each square into a tight cylinder and place each one, seam side down, into one of the prepared pans. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for 1-1/2 hours, until the dough fills the pan and springs back slowly when touched.

After the dough has been sitting for about 1 hour, preheat the oven to 375F. Uncover the pans and brush the tops of each loaf with oil. Bake until the bread is golden brown and the sides spring back when pressed, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the breads to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week,

Cinnamon & Sugar

and

Cook-Your Books @ kitchen flavours