Milk and Honey Bread Raisin and Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Our next Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day bread braid is coming up this weekend and the first of the two recipes on our agenda that I wanted to try was Milk and Honey Raisin Bread. I love cinnamon raisin bread toast for breakfast so I was excited to see how this tasted. So far, I've been impressed with the results from this book and the healthier ingredients used. 

I decided to tweak the recipe slightly by adding a layer of cinnamon sugar.  I also used golden raisins instead of regular raisins because I prefer their taste.. Basically, I took a 'cantaloupe' sized portion of dough from the container where I had kept the dough  in the refrigerator for the past two days, lightly flattened it out on a floured surface and sprinkled a good 1/4 cup or so of cinnamon sugar over the dough.  I rolled it up and placed in it my pre-greased loaf pan and allowed it to rise for about 90 minutes before baking.

The bread was also brushed with an egg wash before baking and sprinkled with coarse sugar.  Looks good, doesn't it?  It was! 

My swirl of cinnamon didn't end up exactly where I wanted it but that thick blob of cinnamon right in the center certainly was tasty! I guess I have to work on my rolling technique ;)  Just one more picture before I started eating...I was already salivating watching the butter melt down the toast!

This bread was so tasty and turned out just how I had hoped.  Just like the cinnamon raisin bread I loved from the store but with a heartier attitude!

Milk and Honey Raisin Bread
From Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day

4 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
4 1/2 cups unbleached AP flour
1 1/2 tbsp granulated yeast (or two packets)
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
2 cups milk
2 cups lukewarm water
1/3 cup honey or agave
3/4 cup raisins
egg wash for brushing top
raw sugar for sprinkling on top

1. Whisk together flours, yeast salt and vital wheat gluten

2. Combine remaining ingredients and mix them with a spoon or food processor

3. Cover (not airtright_ and allow to rise at room temp for 2 hours (until rises and collapses)

4. Easier to work with cold dough - refrigerate and use up to 10 days

5. On baking day, grease 8.5 x 4.5 inch nonstick loaf pan. flour the top and cut off 2-lb piece of dough. Shape into a ball as you normally would.

6. Shape into oval and place in pan. Allow to rest covered in plastic wrap for 90 minutes.

7. Thirty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 375 with rack in center of oven. No stone required.

8. Just before baking, brush top with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar (don't go too crazy or the top gets too dark).

9. Bake 45 minutes until brown and firm.

10. Immediately remove from pan and allow to cool before slicing.

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