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?
