Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Bread, To Try

Prep Time: 30 m Cook Time: 45 m Servings: 36 Source:

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast

3 eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1 cup raisins

8 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons milk

3/4 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast in warm water, and set aside until yeast is frothy. Mix in eggs, sugar, butter or margarine, salt, and raisins. Stir in cooled milk. Add the flour gradually to make a stiff dough.

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes. Place in a large, greased, mixing bowl, and turn to grease the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled.

Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Moisten dough with 2 tablespoons milk. Mix together 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon, and sprinkle mixture on top of the moistened dough. Roll up tightly; the roll should be about 3 inches in diameter. Cut into thirds, and tuck under ends. Place loaves into well greased 9 x 5 inch pans. Lightly grease tops of loaves. Let rise again for 1 hour.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, or until loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when knocked. Remove loaves from pans, and brush with melted butter or margarine. Let cool before slicing.

Notes

it took considerably less time to bake for me than the recipe called for, which for a less experienced baker could have resulted in burnt bread, and the rolled dough size was too vague. (I rolled it 1/2" thick and it was probably about 24" long.)

I left out the raisins (don't care for them in baked goods), let it rise in the fridge overnight (for more developed flavor),rolled it in a mix a flour and 10x sugar to make the crust more tender and left the melted butter out. It turned out nicely, and the large amount allowed for one baked loaf today, one baked loaf to freeze, and one roll of dough to freeze for another day. FYI, this is similar to the recipe I used to use comercially to bake sticky buns- it would work well as rolls. Oh, and the milk doesn't really need to be heated. I used water and milk powder and it wasn't warm- it turned out fine.

Nutrition

Per Serving: 182 calories; 4.1 g fat; 32.4 g carbohydrates; 4.1 g protein; 18 mg cholesterol; 115 mg sodium. Full nutrition