SWIRL RAISIN BREAD RECIPES

Steps:

• In large bowl, mix 3 cups of the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, the salt and yeast. In 1-quart saucepan, heat water and oil until very warm (120°F to 130°F); stir into flour mixture. Stir in eggs; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
• Place dough on lightly floured surface; gently roll in flour to coat. Knead 8 to 10 minutes or until smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening or cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. (If desired, at this point, dough can be refrigerated up to 4 days.) Cover; let rise in warm place about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size. (If using fast-acting yeast, do not let rise 1 hour; cover and let rest on floured surface 10 minutes.)
• Grease 2 (9x5-inch) loaf pans with shortening or cooking spray. Gently push fist into dough to deflate; divide in half. Knead 1/2 cup of the raisins into each half. Roll each half into 18x9-inch rectangle. Brush 1 tablespoon oil over rectangles.
• In small bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle each rectangle with half of sugar-cinnamon mixture. Beginning at 9-inch side, roll up each rectangle. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Press each end with side of hand to seal; fold ends under loaf. Place loaves, seam sides down, in pans. Brush oil over loaves. Cover; let rise in warm place about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.
• Move oven rack to lowest position; heat oven to 375°F. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to cooling rack. Brush butter over loaves; cool.

Steps:

• Combine milk, brown sugar, and yeast in a bowl or measuring cup. Let sit for 10 minutes, until foamy. This indicates that the yeast is alive and well. Pour the yeast liquid into the bowl of a stand mixer, and add oil and eggs. Whisk to combine the wet ingredients, then add flour and salt. Use the dough hook or a spatula to roughly combine the wet and dry ingredients into a shaggy dough. Add the raisins, then fit the bowl and dough hook to the stand mixer. Knead on medium low speed for 10 minutes. Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise for 1 hour, until doubled in size.Flour your countertop as lightly as possible, then spread and stretch the dough into a rectangle that is the length of your loaf pan, about 9 inches by 18 inches. I prefer to use a 9x5 loaf pan.Make the cinnamon filling by stirring together brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Spread this mixture all over the top of the dough rectangle, then roll the dough up as tightly as you can, rolling the long way. Place the roll seam-side down into a greased loaf pan, then cover with plastic wrap to let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375ºF, then bake bread for 40–50 minutes until the inside reads 190ºF to 200ºF with a thermometer. Let the bread cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Enjoy!Notes:1. The 2 tablespoons brown sugar won’t make the bread very sweet. If you want a sweeter loaf, double the brown sugar.2. I use grapeseed oil, but you could also use canola oil, vegetable oil, a light olive oil, etc.3. The dough will be sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour, as it will make the bread more dense.Storage: Since there are no preservatives, the bread will only keep for a few days at room temperature. I recommend freezing any unused bread.