Almond Raisin Bread

From Grandma Yonkman. Delicious! She adds, ‘do not try to substitute almond extract for almond paste; you need the texture of the almond paste!’

Step: 1

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 2 loaf pans.

Step: 2

Combine the raisins and water in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a simmer and cook until the raisins plump, about 4 minutes. Add the butter and cook until the butter melts into the liquid. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Step: 3

Beat the egg and sugar together in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves into the mixture. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl; stir in batches into the egg mixture along with the cooled raisin mixture, alternating small amounts of each as you stir. Mix the almond paste and walnuts into the mixture. Pour about half of the resulting batter into each loaf pan.

Step: 4

Bake in the preheated oven until the top springs back when pressed, about 1 hour.

Per Serving: 141 calories; protein 2.7g; carbohydrates 22g; fat 5.2g; cholesterol 7.2mg; sodium 122.5mg.

The quality of the flour could make a real difference to your bread. Different brands do vary. Great taste or Canadian flours, which are naturally higher in gluten, may give you a better rise than standard bread flours – especially if you’re make wholemeal dough , which not always rise as well as white bread.

To make this in a breadmaker , add all the ingredients to your breadmaker and follow the makers instructions.

A bread first rising can be make in the fridge overnight . This slows down the time it takes to rise to double its size, giving it a deeper flavour. It’s also a great limit , as you can work it night before , then finish it off the next day.