Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

Baking with yeast is scary.  Oh, maybe not for my Nana and my mom-in-law Lisa, who are whizzes with the stuff, but I just have always felt that it's a little over my head.  Why?  I can read, and I can measure, so what's the big deal?  Sunday I decided to find out if I could count myself among the proud yeast-bosses.

I combined this recipe from two that I found on the internet (from Ellie Kruger (healthy) and Annie's Eats) because I wanted to use some whole wheat flour, and I also wanted the raisins to be a part of the dough, not just in the roll-up part.  I also chose not to use my mother-in-laws special "Coffee Cake" recipe because it has like 100293 tablespoons of butter, and I wanted to see if I could do a lighter version.  Here we go.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/4 c very warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp honey
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cup-2 cups all purpose white flour
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2/3 cup raisins soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes
Brown sugar and cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl fitted with paddle attachment, combine yeast, water and sugar, stir briefly.  Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.  Then add in butter, egg, salt, honey, cinnamon, and flours.  Beat just until dough forms.  Switch attachment to a dough hook and knead on low speed for about 10 minutes.  Add raisins into bowl, and knead another 3-5 minutes.  If dough seems wet, add more flour until the dough doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl while raisins are kneading in.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface.  Knead a few times with your hands (push out from the middle, turn, and fold some sides in.  Repeat).  Place dough into a lightly greased large bowl, turning dough once so the top is greasy too.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Place dough in the oven (OFF!!!  don't turn the oven on....just keep it OFF) and turn the oven light on to generate some warmth.  Allow the dough to double in size.

Punch dough down and turn out onto board.  Push dough outward until it forms a circle.  Fold in the edges in thirds like a letter, then turn 90 degrees and fold again (you should end up with a square-like thing).  Put it back into the bowl and allow to rise and double again in the oven (OFF!!!)

Turn out onto board again, cut dough into 2 pieces and roll one piece into a 12x10 inch rectangle.  Sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar all over the middle.  Fold in the left and right (long sides), and roll tightly starting from a short end.  Place loaf into a greased 9x5" loaf pan seam side down.  Do the same thing with the other half.  Again, cover and allow to rise until just peeking over the top of the pan.

Take off the seran wrap before you bake!!! That would be a mess

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly beat an egg, and brush the tops of both loaves with the egg (this is an egg wash, will make the top yummy and brown).  Bake for about 35 minutes, tenting with foil if the tops get too brown too fast.  Allow to cool 5 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely before cutting and serving.

Wow, we did it!!  Yeast bread!  It's super pillowy and soft, and has a nice spice from the cinnamon running throughout.  Maybe I'll try this yeast thing again sometime.

Cheers to Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast),
Amy