I have never liked raisins. Not even as a child. I would rather eat nothing than eat raisins. A while back I did a battle of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and I have been sitting on a bag of raisins ever since. I don’t like them in salads or cookies but on occasion I have eaten Cinnamon Raisin Bread and enjoyed them that way. I decided to try a few different recipes to see if I could begin to use up my supply. I made one bread recipe with yeast & a quick bread recipe (with no yeast).
I went with the no yeast recipe first. I love making quick breads. They are so “quick” & easy as the name implies. They almost always turn out delicious & moist which are the two basic criteria for a successful quick bread.
Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk (I used 1tbsp lemon juice and enough milk to make 1 cup & let stand for 5 minutes)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup raisins
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- In a small bowl whisk egg, buttermilk, and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry & stir until just combined. Fold in raisins.
- Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; set aside.
- Spoon half the batter into a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle with half of the reserved cinnamon-sugar; repeat layers. Cut through batter with a knife to swirl.
- Bake 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Let cool completely.
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- ½ cup milk
- 1/3 cup warm water, approximately 110F
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus a few tablespoons (to reach desired consistency)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- Add warm water to a medium bowl. Stir yeast in water and set aside, about 5-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, warm milk in a small saucepan or microwave until it just starts to bubble. Let cool until lukewarm.
- Mix in egg, 1/4 cup sugar, butter, salt and raisins to yeast mixture. Stir in the cooled milk slowly.
- Add the flour gradually to make a stiff dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes until smooth.
- Grease a large bowl and place the dough inside turning to lightly grease all sides of the dough. Cover loosely with a warm, damp cloth.
- Let rise until doubled in size (approximately 2 hrs).
- Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle, approximately 1/2 inch thick.
- Moisten the surface of the dough with 1 tablespoon milk.
- Mix together ½ cup of sugar & 1 tbsp cinnamon and sprinkle mixture evenly on top of the moistened dough.
- Roll the dough tightly (the long way). Tuck under ends and pinch bottom together.
- Place a piece of parchment paper inside the loaf pan (for easy removal), grease with butter, and add the loaf. Let rise uncovered for about an hour.
- Place in cold oven and set to 350F. Bake for 60minutes until lightly browned and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
- Cool for 10 minutes in pan.
- Remove from the pan and let cool completely.
Results:
Both breads were scrumptious. However…the yeasted bread was exceptional! The texture was what one would expect from a Cinnamon Raisin Bread & it looked more pleasing to the eye as the swirls were very pronounced. The cinnamon swirls were also more sticky compared to the quick bread. When you bit in to the quick bread, it had a sugar-cinnamon crust on top and in the middle, whereas the swirls in the other were slightly crispy & slightly gooey & sticky all at the same time.
Definitely take the time to make the bread with yeast. Also, the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled so you can make many loaves at once and place some in the fridge to bake at a later date. If this is done, once the dough is rolled out and rolled back up with the cinnamon-sugar mixture, cut in half or into thirds depending on how many loaves you are making. Place in the loaf pan with parchment paper and cover loosely. Place in the fridge and use within 1 week. When ready to bake, let stand on the counter or in a cold oven for 1 hour. Proceed to bake as previously directed.
