TWD: Raisin Swirl Bread

Just last Tuesday I mentioned that I hadn’t made Josh too many breakfast treats recently, so I was delighted that this week’s Tuesdays With Dorie selection, Raisin Swirl Bread, would provide breakfasts for him this week. There aren’t a lot of yeast bread recipes in Baking and I’m always happy when they’re selected, since it is so satisfying to bake yeasted treats. The dough came together quickly and rose beautifully – seriously, it seemed enormous! This bread was meant to be baked in a 10x5 inch pan. I had baked an amazingly good cinnamon raisin bread from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice a while ago, which was divided in two portions and baked in smaller pans (8x4?). I noticed the proportions of ingredients were similar, so I divided the dough in two parts to make two loaves. I baked one yesterday and I’m hoping the dough will last in the refrigerator another day or two and then I will make a second loaf. I used the ingredients (cinnamon, raisins – not quite as many as the recipe called for, sugar, cocoa) in the recipe for the first loaf and I’m thinking of adding chocolate chips and hazelnuts to the swirl for the next one. I’m pretty sure I’ll see some inspiring ideas from other bakers, though.



I was pleased with how the bread turned out. It was slightly misshapen and the swirl could have been a bit more dramatic, but those are minor complaints. I haven’t sampled it yet, but Josh enjoyed it for breakfast this morning. I suspect it will be extra-good toasted and sprinkled with some more cinnamon and sugar. Josh rated the bread an 8 for Deliciousness and I gave it a 3.5 for Effort, for an EDR of 2.28. Many thanks to Susan of Food.Baby for a great selection. You can find the recipe here on Susan’s site and visit the TWD site for more swirly goodness.