Flaherty Wines

When I was chatting with a friend at the wine tasting this weekend, she mentioned her recent trip to Canada and commented that she really enjoyed the toasted cinnamon-raisin bread for breakfast. That was all it took to kick-start a craving, even though I haven’t thought of raisin toast in years. I worked out the ingredients during a lull in the tasting, and as soon as we got home on Sunday I started putting together the dough. The bread was baked by 7:00 pm and then toasted for breakfast Monday morning. Yummy.

A note on ingredients for those of us living in Chile. Pecans are available in Santiago at Veronica Blackburn on Alonso de Córdoba. They’re expensive, but considerably cheaper than I’ve seen at Jumbo and Lider (and I haven’t seen pecans at those stores in months). You could substitute walnuts if you like, or leave the nuts out altogether. For the raisins, I prefer corintos, as I find pasas to be overwhelmingly large in baked goods.

Finally, the cinnamon is fairly subtle in this recipe. If you’re craving cinnamon bread, increase the amount to one tablespoon.

Makes two loaves.

Raisin-pecan bread

1  1/2 tablespoons yeast
1  1/2 cups warm water
1 cup warm milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
5  1/2 to 6  1/2 cups white flour
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup pecans

To mix with an electric mixer: In the bowl of the mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let sit until softened. Add the warm milk, melted butter, honey, salt, cinnamon, whole wheat flour, and about 2  1/2 cups of the white flour. Beat with the paddle attachment for about 30 seconds, until the dough becomes somewhat elastic. Change to the dough hook and add 2 to 2  1/2 cups of flour. Knead for five to seven minutes on the lowest or next-to-lowest setting. Add the raisins, pecans, and as much flour as necessary to achieve the desired consistency, then continue kneading for another five minutes.

When the dough is ready (it will spring back when you pinch it), turn it out into an oiled bowl, turn once to coat with oil, then cover with a damp towel and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk (about an hour). Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it briefly before dividing in two. To shape the loaves, flatten the dough into a rough rectangle (the same length as your pan), then tightly roll it into a loaf, stretching the dough over the ends (so the roll doesn’t show) and pinching all along the seam to seal it. Place seam-side down in well-greased loaf pans, cover again with a damp cloth, and let rise until double in bulk (about an hour). Bake at 375 F for 35 to 40 minutes, until the loaves are golden and sound hollow when tapped. Let cool for five or ten minutes before turning out of the pans to cool on a rack. Cool completely before slicing.

To mix by hand: Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let sit until softened. Add the warm milk, melted butter, honey, salt, cinnamon, whole wheat flour, and about 2  1/2 cups of the white flour. Beat with a wooden spoon for one hundred strokes, so that the dough becomes somewhat elastic. Mix in another cup of flour and turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead by hand for 15 to 17 minutes, adding in the white flour until the dough is the desired consistency. Halfway through the kneading, add in the raisins and pecans. When the dough is ready (it will spring back when you pinch it), proceed as described above.