Brown Sugar - Raisin Bread

To contact us Click HERE
Hi, Everyone! I hope that those of you who live on the East Coast made it through the hurricane safely and didn't have any damage on your homes! Thankfully the worst that happened to us was that we lost power, other than that everything was ok! It started raining here on Sunday afternoon, and continued to rain through the night and into Monday. The rain and wind really intensified around lunch time on Monday and got worse and worse through the afternoon. As soon as the hurricane hit the ground on the Jersey shore we lost power. Luckily I had lots of candles ready, so we spent the rest of the evening eating by candlelight and listening to the storm outside, which was beginning to sound pretty scary! At one point the rain was pounding on the windows so hard I thought it was going to break them! Thankfully the storm was gone by the morning and we got our power back by the afternoon. Just a few hours without heat, light, and being able to charge our cell phones and computers felt like forever and made me so thankful for how comfortable our lives are today! The first thing I did when the power came back on? Made a nice big cup of English Breakfast Tea! And the next thing? I made a loaf of this wonderfully soft and comforting Brown Sugar - Raisin Bread that I'm sharing with you today! It's the perfect thing to bake on a cold, rainy day because it will fill your home with the delicious warmth of cinnamon and brown sugar! And I don't think there's anything as comforting as that! Here's the recipe...

BROWN SUGAR - RAISIN BREAD(Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma)*Makes 1 loaf*
YOU WILL NEED:Bread:1/2 tbs active dry yeast1 1/2 tbs granulated sugar1/2 and 1/8 cup warm water1/2 cup warm milk1 1/2 tbs unsalted butter, melted1/2 tbs salt1 egg3 cups all-purpose flour3/4 cup raisins
Filling:1/3 cup packed light brown sugar2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a small bowl, combine the yeast, a little bit of sugar and a 1/4 cup of warm water. Cover and let stand for a five minutes, until the mixture gets frothy. Set aside.

2. In your electric mixer bowl, combine the rest of the water, the warm milk, the rest of the sugar, salt egg and a cup of the flour. Mix until you get a creamy texture, then add the yeast and another cup of flour. Mix for a couple of minutes, then add in the raisins and continue mixing. Add the rest of the flour and beat on medium speed until a soft dough forms (if the dough is too sticky add a little more flour. Using the dough hook attachment, knead for five minutes. Then, form the dough into a ball, place it in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour.

3. Line a standard size loaf pan with parchment paper. Turn your dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into an 8x12 inch rectangle. In a little bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon, then evenly sprinkle it over the rectangle. Tightly roll up the dough jelly-roll style beginning at the narrow end until you get a log. Pinch the ends and transfer the log into your prepared pan (make sure you place it in the pan seam side down). Cover it loosely and let rise for another hour and a half.

4. Preheat your oven to 350 deg F. Bake the bread for 35 - 40 minutes, until the top is beautifully golden brown! Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and eating.


Happy Baking, Everyone!I will be linking to:Mangia Mondays at Delightfully Dowling, Makin' You Crave Mondays, Skip to My Lou, The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Tatertots and Jello, Six Sisters' Stuff, Taylor House Thursday, and Be Different, Act Normal.