Walnut Raisin Bread

Here’s the newest loaf: Walnut Raisin Wheat. I cheated and used 1/2 sunflower seeds too because my walnut stash was smaller than I had remembered.

This loaf is pretty much awesome. Not too sweet as some raisin breads, but definitely worth eating for breakfast.

I’m always trying to sneak whole grains in, but sometimes recipes just don’t mesh well with whole grain flours. And unfortunately the whole grain pastry flour that substitutes perfectly in quick breads is certainly not suitable for a yeast bread.

To accomplish this, I started using a mixture of flours for my basic bread flour. I take a large Tupperware bin and combine 3 parts unbleached bread flour with 1 part whole wheat flour (stone ground). I’ve found that this sneaks in a new more whole grains without having to alter the recipes too much. Give it a try and let me know what you think. (If you are using it for non-yeast bread use, just substitute unbleached white or ‘white whole wheat’ for the bread flour)

The author of Bread Alone calls this his 20% Bran flour.

Here’s the recipe: (Its a 1 day’er!! Which is a complete relief compared to a few others I’ve been trying)

Walnut Raisin Bread

Juice of 1 orange
1 cup lukewarm water
2 T. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. traditional whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c. 20% Bran flour
2 T. brown sugar (packed)
1 1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. chopped nuts or whole seeds (toast ‘em a little!)
1 cup raisins (I soaked mine overnight so they were super plump and juicy)
2 1/2 t. instant yeast

Combine orange juice, water and yeast. Let it sit until the yeast dissolves and it gets foamy (about 30 minutes), stir well. Add the remainder of the ingredients except the raisins and nuts. Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes.

TIP: When you knead whole grain breads, you have to be careful not to add too much flour. It can made the bread dry and dense. If your surface becomes sticky, oil your hands and the surface rather than adding more flour.

Cover and let rise in an oiled bowl for 1-2 hours.

Prep your loaf pan with oil. Take your rising dough, punch it down in the center, pull up on the sides to gently deflate the dough. With the palm of your hand flatten the dough on the floured surface (trying to expel any air pockets). Shape into a log and place (seam-side down) into loaf pan. Cover and allow to rise for 1-3 hours until it has risen over the top of the pan.

Heat oven to 350. Bake 40 minutes. When you remove it from the oven, gently pop it out of the pan onto a cooling rack or tea towel. Thump the bottom of the loaf with your thumb. If it sounds hollow, its done. If it sounds dense, put it back into the oven for 5 minutes and try again.

Cool slightly before slicing.

TIP: If you slice each time only what you need, you’re bread with stay fresh longer.

You could substitute cranberries or dried cherries for the raisins, and as I said before any nut or seed would be great too. Substitute upto 1/4 cup honey for the brown sugar too if you want a honey wheat flavor. Have fun! and try not to eat it all at once

Related posts: