Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

This recipe will still use the base recipe that I use for the white bread, we are just going to add in the raisins and swirl!

This recipe will make two loaves.

Ingredients

• 6 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of whole milk
• 1 1/3 cups of warm water
• 8 tablespoons butter – melted
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup raisins
• 2 bowls of cinnamon sugar – 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon per bowl.
• splash of milk

Instructions

• First put the raisins in a bowl and cover with boiling water and let them soak.
• Pour 6 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl, and remove 6 tablespoons of that flour and put it in a saucepan.
• Measure your water and take out about 1 cup of the water and pour it in with the 6TBS flour. (this is the start of the Tangzhong method).
• Cook the flour and water mixture over medium high heat, whisking the whole time until it becomes a paste. When it is done set it aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, melt 8TBS of butter and set aside to cool.
• Add sugar to the remaining 1/3 cup of water and sprinkle the yeast on top. Gently mix to let the yeast bloom.
• Go back to your big bowl of flour and mix in the salt.
• Now let’s bring it all together! Make a well in your flour and pour in the milk, bloomed yeast, butter, and the flour/water paste.
• Begin combining using a spoon or spatula, but eventually switch to your hands.
• Once the ingredients are all combined, knead the dough for 7-9 minutes. The dough should not be sticking to your hands or the surface. If it is sticky, add about 1 tablespoon of flour at a time.
• Drain the raisins, pat them dry, and toss them in flour. Add them to the dough and knead until they are evenly distributed.
• Place the dough back in the bowl and let the dough rise for about an hour or until it is doubled in size. Sometimes this recipe will take longer to rise because of the addition of raisins.
• Preheat oven to 350°
• After it has doubled, punch it down and divide it in half. Flatten the dough into rectangles about an inch thick. Take the extra splash of milk and use a basting brush to rub a very light amount of milk on the dough.
• Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top of the dough and gently press it into the dough*. Tightly roll each rectangle into a log. Set each log in a loaf pan lined with parchment (or you can grease it, but I strongly recommend the parchment ESPECIALLY because this will be extra sticky from the sugar).
• Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until the dough is and inch over the side of the loaf pan.
• Place in the oven for 35-40 minutes.
• When you take it out of the oven, remove it from the loaf pan and let it cool on a rack. This is why I recommend parchment, it makes it a million times easier to remove a hot loaf!
• Let the loaf cool before slicing.
• Enjoy!!

*Note:

If you have mounts of sugar that can cause gaps between your layers. Another cause of gaps is not rolling the dough tight enough. As you roll the dough pull the roll the opposite direction you are rolling, pull it every few inches to help make sure it is tight.