Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread (or The Loaf Formerly Known As The Brick)
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Remember this loaf? The Brick? The utter failure? I was determined to try again – this time remembering the salt and the maple syrup – because I just knew it would be a good loaf of bread if I could concentrate, not try to do five things at once and pay attention to one thing at a time. You might call it Being Present. You might call it Living in the Moment. You might even call it Anti-Multitasking. Whatever it’s called, I need to figure out how to slow down and do it! By the way, I turned the original Brick into French toast and, you know, it was really, really delicious.
Okay, before I kick off the recipe, please consider submitting one of your blog posts to VeganBloggersUnite! Lidia is looking for content for this great resource – a place where vegan bloggers can meet and greet and let other like-minded eaters and readers know about their blogs. It’s easy! Find a blog post for which you are particularly proud (recipe, opinion, ramblings – whatever!) and follow the simple instructions here. It takes like five seconds! I want to thank Lidia for putting together this cool blog and for giving me the space to share some of my posts.
Let’s do this bread thing:
Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
Makes 1 loaf, about 16 slices
Dough:
1 1/4 cup unsweetened, plain soy milk, warm
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 1/4 tsp. dry active
2 tbsp. prune puree
2 tsp. salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
~2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup raisins
Swirl:
2-3 tbsp. prune puree
3 tbsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup Demerara sugar
In a large bowl, combine the soy milk, maple syrup, orange juice and yeast, and stir to combine. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture looks foamy. Now add the prune puree, salt and the 2 cups of whole wheat flour. When that’s all nice and combined, stir in the raisins and one cup of the AP flour – adding more as necessary to get a soft dough together. Lightly flour the counter and knead, adding flour if you need to, to keep dough from clogging up your fingers. Knead for about 10 minutes and you should have a lovely, soft, elastic dough.
Lightly oil another large bowl and place the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for an hour or so, or until the dough has doubled in size. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by combining all of the ingredients. Set aside. Oil a 9″ x 4″ loaf pan.
When the dough has risen, punch down and then dump it out on a lightly floured surface. Roll to a 10″ x 12″ rectangle and gently spread with the filling mixture. I leave a little space along the short ends for rolling. Speaking of which, once you’ve spread the filling over the dough, roll the dough (from the short side) and carefully place the loaf into the prepared pan. Spritz dough with cooking spray, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for another hour or so. Dough should be about 1 1/2″ inches above the pan rim.
When the dough is nearing the end of its rise, preheat the oven to 375F. Place the loaf in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Carefully remove the loaf from the pan and tap the bottom of the loaf. If it sounds hollow, the loaf is done. If it still sounds a little squishy, put the loaf back in the oven – directly on the rack so the bottom browns up nicely. Check on the loaf every 5 minutes or so until you are satisfied that it’s thoroughly and deliciously baked.
Allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing. No really. If you cut it too soon, it will tear, sag and pull. But it’ll still taste fantastic, so who am I to tell you what to do?
One of the most difficult things for me to do…let bread cool properly before cutting into it. This is much more aesthetically pleasing than The Brick was, but The Brick was funny. It really was.
The Brick was hilarious! I kinda love it, too.
An absolute triumph! I thought it looked good last time but if it’s possible it looks even better this time. Excellent job!
It was a relief that I didn’t have another failure! Thanks, Lorna!
Quite the opposite!
Just a beautiful loaf! ( the brick made me smile too)
Yummmmm…
Yes! No more brick! Gotta love those kitchen successes! Looks delicious!
A perfect cinnamon sugar swirl!
Gorgeous! Congrats! I bet that feels good *sweet success* is always worth trying again for – looks superbly yummy
It was good to “undo” my mistakes. Definitely worth it.
This could become a “regular” favorite…get it, because of the prunes:]
Heehee! Yep, for sure!
I want to make this. I’ve very intimidated by bread making but your blog is making me want to try. Your pictures are always so hard to resist. This bread is definitely impressive.
I have no doubt you can easily make this. There is nothing like homemade bread.
2 things:
1. Seriously, how do you continually come up with such yummy baked goods? I would love to come live with you just so I could eat all day and take in the lovely smells that must fill your home!
2. Took your advice- submitted a post to vegan bloggers unite! Thanks for the tip
Awww, thanks, Gabby! That’s sweet of you. Your blog totally inspires me – you are much more inventive than I am! And YAY! I’m glad you submitted a post! It would be great to see that site grow.
Wow, your swirl is so perfectly swirly! That’s amazing!
thanks – you never know until you slice!
Thank you so very much for mentioning VBU on your post. You said exactly what my hopes are for the site. Greatly appreciate your kindess!
You are most welcome!
That looks like one soft bread and i love the addition of the prune puree!
Thanks! The prune puree keeps the fat content down – and of course adds a nice gooey-ness, too.
Yum. My kids would love this (as would I, I’m sure!). Is the prune puree just…pureed prunes? I think I can handle that.
Oops – Sorry I missed this! I use prune baby food, but have also just pureed prunes, so whatever is easiest!
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Looks so good. I love bread!
Thanks, Tiffany! I’m a bread junkie!
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