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Raisin – Pecan Bread

Bread flour
whole wheat flour - 1/3 cup
Raisins or cranberries
pecans or walnuts
instant yeast
oil


Recipe by Rose Levy Beranbaum, Author of the bread bible

You may substitute walnuts for pecans. You may substitute dried cranberries for the raisins. Be careful of the brand of dried cranberries you buy – I bought some that were more a candied version of the fruit than really dried fruit and they aren’t nearly as flavorful.

Soak the fruit
1. Soak 1 cup of raisins in 1/3 cup very hot water for 30 minutes.
2. Drain fruit, reserving liquid. Cover the fruit or baggie it so it doesn’t dry out.
3. Add enough water to the liquid to make 1 cup. Make it room temperature.

Make a sponge dough starter
1. In a mixer, whisk 1 cup of bread flour, ½ teaspoon instant yeast, 1 cup of fruit-water, 1 T sugar until very smooth to incorporate air for about 2 minutes.
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit.

Flour mixture
1. Stir together
1 ¼ cup bread flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
¾ teaspoon instant yeast
½ cup finely ground pecans (1 ½ oz)
2. Sprinkle this gently on top of the sponge. Don’t mix in. Cover tightly with plastic wrap.
3. Let ferment at room temperature for 1 to 4 hours. (Bubbling through is normal.)
4. Add 1 T oil and mix with dough hook (#2 on Kitchen Aid) for about 1 minute.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 20 minutes.
6. Sprinkle on 1 ¼ teaspoon salt.
7. Knead 7 minutes at medium speed (#4 Kitchen Aid). The dough should be smooth and elastic. If it’s sticky after 3 minutes, start adding bread flour, 1 T at a time, up to ¼ cup more.
8. Turn the dough out onto lightly floured surface.
9. Cover with a plastic wrap.
10. Let rest 10 minutes to relax the gluten.
11. Roll into a 10 by 15 rectangle.
12. Sprinkle with raisins and 1 ½ cups broken pecan pieces.
13. Roll the dough up. Shape into ball and knead very lightly. If you must, add a little flour.

First rise
1. Lightly oil a 2 quart bowl and place dough in it.
2. Lightly oil the top of dough.
3. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap.
4. Allow to rise (75 to 80 degrees) until doubled, about 1 ½ hours.

Second rise
1. Roll into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface.
2. Shape into a 10 inch long, torpedo shaped loaf
3. Set onto a lightly greased baking sheet
4. Cover with a large container, or with lightly oiled plastic wrap
5. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. The free-form loaf will be about 12 inches long by 4 wide and 3 high.

Baking
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees an hour before baking. If you have a bread stone, put it on the lowest rack. If not, put a baking sheet there. Also put a pan or cast iron pan on oven floor (I use a very small tin bread pan.)
2. Remove the top or wrap from bread and let it sit for 5 minutes to dry slightly.
3. With a very sharp knife, make ¼ inch deep slashes on the top of the bread.
4. Mist the dough with water.
5. Place the dough and it’s sheet onto the bread stone or the baking sheet in the oven.
6. Quickly toss ½ cup of ice into the pan on the oven floor and shut the door.
7. Bake 5 minutes.
8. Lower heat to 375 and bake another 40 or 50 minutes. If needed, cover with foil for the last few minutes. Turn bread halfway through baking for even baking.
9. Cool completely on a wire rack for 2 hours before cutting




This recipe was submitted by Recipe by Rose Levy Beranbaum

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