Raisin Bread III

This recipe uses a white bread straight dough as the base. When making raisin bread, you may use brown sugar instead of white. Grated orange or lemon rind may be added.

Step: 1

Scald milk.

Step: 2

Soften yeast in warm water; let stand 5 minutes.

Step: 3

Pour scalded milk over sugar, shortening, and salt in a bowl. When lukewarm, blend in raisins and 1 cup flour.

Step: 4

Stir in yeast and beat well. Add 3 cups flour, continue beating until smooth. Beat in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn on lightly floured surface; let rest about 5 minutes.

Step: 5

Knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in a greased bowl; turn to bring greased surface to top. Cover, let stand in warm place until dough is doubled, about 1 hour.

Step: 6

Punch down, cover, and let rise again until almost doubled in bulk.

Step: 7

Turn on lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half; let rest 5 to 10 minutes.

Step: 8

Shape into loaves. Place in 2 greased loaf pans 9 1/2 x 5 1/4 x 2 3/4 inches. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Step: 9

Bake in a 400 degree F (205 degrees C) oven for about 50 minutes.

Per Serving: 172 calories; protein 4.4g; carbohydrates 35.5g; fat 1.6g; cholesterol 1.6mg; sodium 252.7mg.

The best flavour of the flour could make a real difference to your bread. Different brands do vary. Extra-strong or Canadian flours, which are naturally higher in gluten, may give you a better rise than standard dough flours – especially if you’re making wholemeal dough , which doesn’t always getting bigger as well as clear bread.

To make this in a dough , add all the menus to your breadmaker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

A dough’s first rising can be done 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 yesterday , then finish it off the next day.