Ingredients
- 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F.)
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons firmly-packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons instant active dry yeast
- 1 cup raisins*
Preparation
Step 1
* To keep raisins from sticking together, put the raisins in a small bowl with 1 teaspoon flour; stir to thoroughly combine.
Place all ingredients except raisins in bread pan of your bread machine. Select dough setting and press start. Process according to manufacturer's instructions for a dough setting. NOTE: Don't be afraid to open the lid and check the dough. It should form a nice elastic ball. If you think the dough is too moist, add additional flour (a tablespoon at a time). The same is true if the dough is looking dry and gnarly. Add warm water (a tablespoon at a time).
After approximately 15 minutes of the dough cycle, add raisins and continue dough cycle. When dough cycle has finished, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Form dough into an oval, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.
After resting, turn dough bottom side up and press to flatten. Shape dough into a loaf and place in a loaf pan that's been coated with cooking spray. Cover and place in a warm spot to rise for approximately 30 minutes or until doubled.
Oven Rising: Sometimes I use my oven for the rising. Turn the oven on for a minute or so, then turn it off again. This will warm the oven and make it a great environment for rising bread. If you can't comfortably press your hand against the inside of the oven door, the oven is too hot. Let it stand open to cool a bit. Sourdough rises more slowly than yeast bread; Always remember, the longer the rise time, the more sourdough flavor.
Cool or Refrigerator Rise: If I don't have the time to wait for the rise to finish or I know that I will be interrupted before the completed rise, I do a cool rise. A cool rise is when the dough is place in the refrigerator and left to rise slowly over night approximately 8 to 12 hours. I usually do this after the first rise and the dough has been shaped into a loaf. As this is a longer rise time, it improves the sourdough flavor in your finished bread.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. A good check is to use an instant digital thermometer to test your bread. The temperature should be between 200 and 210 degrees. Remove from oven and cool on a bread rack for about 10 minutes. Remove from pan.