Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Unfortunately, I won’t be spending Mother’s Day with either my Mom or my Mother-in-law this weekend 😦  Living away from family stinks, but I am fortunate and grateful that I will be seeing my Mother-in-law next weekend and my Mother the weekend after that!!!  For this post, I decided to share with you some delicious Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread that I adapted from Peter Reinhart’s cookbook The Bread Baker’s Apprentice.  I actually baked this bread for my sister’s baby shower brunch (stay tuned for more details on the baby shower!).  I was baking a few other things that weekend for the shower, so I completely forgot that I was out of raisins!  I’m not a huge fan of raisins in bread, so it wasn’t a big deal.  I also decided to use whole wheat flour in addition to the all-purpose flour, so you’ll notice that the cinnamon swirls aren’t as visible with the whole wheat flour.  I assure you that the wonderful cinnamon taste was still there even if you can’t see it.  This bread is perfect to bake for a Mother’s Day brunch.  Enjoy and Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mamas out there!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup water, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups raisins (optional – I left them out)

Directions:

1. Stir together flours, sugar, salt, yeast, and cinnamon in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add the egg, butter, buttermilk, and water and stir on low speed until ingredients come together to form a ball.  If the dough seems too sticky, add flour.  If it seems too stiff, add water.
2. Switch paddle attachment to dough hook and begin kneading on medium speed for 6 minutes.  Add flour if necessary.  If adding raisins, add in at the last 2 minutes of kneading.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl with canola oil and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling to coat the dough in oil.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place a dry kitchen towel on top.  Allow to rise for 2 hours at room temperature.
4. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and form into loafs.  Grease 2, 9″ loaf pans and place dough inside.  Spray the tops with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap and dry kitchen towels.  Allow dough to rise another 1 1/2 hours.
5. Place the oven rack in the middle shelf and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place the loaf pans on a baking sheet making sure the pans don’t touch each other and bake for 20 minutes.  Rotate pans 180 degrees and continue baking for another 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
6. Immediately remove the bread from their loaf pans being sure not to burn yourself.  Allow the bread to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.

*Adapted from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice

Check out these other sweet treats that would be perfect for a Mother’s Day Brunch:

• Apple Buckle
• Cantaloupe Sorbet
• Carrot Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting and Sunflower Seeds
• Chocolate Lavender Brownies
• Fig and Apricot Biscotti
• Fig and Raspberry Tart
• Italian Ricotta Pie
• Lemon Ricotta Pancakes w/Fresh Figs & Honey
• Peanut Butter Banana Bread
• Pineapple Bars
• Rhubarb and Cardamom Streusel Muffins
• Strawberry Banana Muffins
• Strawberry Scones