I love cinnamon raisin bread. Do you? Anyone? It’s problematic, though. The loaves at the store are small. And kind of stiff (although that makes for good raisin toast. Oooh, note to self, make some raisin toast). And expensive. Homemade recipes can be time-consuming and labor intensive. Enter the bread machine. Surely, the bread machine can save us – right?
Right.
Now, most bread maker recipes for cinnamon raisin bread that I’ve tried (and believe me, I’ve tried a few) have a few fatal flaws. They come out too dry, or too bland. They want you to mix the dough and then roll it up with more cinnamon and bake it in the oven. There just aren’t enough raisins.
After a bit of tinkering, I’m pleased to share with you my version of cinnamon raisin bread for the bread maker. There are no extra steps to perform – just put the ingredients in and set it – making it perfect for breakfasts. I’ve also made a few adjustments to the flavor: this loaf comes out moist and a bit dense, with a rich cinnamon flavor and plenty of raisins. Here it is!
Really Good Raisin Bread
Ingredients:
1 1/4 c milk
2 tbsp butter
3 c flour
1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 c raisins
2 tsp yeast
Directions:
Add all ingredients to bread pan in the order directed for your bread machine. For me, that means liquids on the bottom, dry ingredients on the top, and yeast in the middle.
TIP: Don’t let your yeast touch your liquids, especially if you’re setting it to run overnight.
TIP #2: My directions said to add the raisins in at a special beep once the dough is mixed together – I did that and found that I ended up with a loaf of plain bread with raisins stuck to the outside. I put my raisins in with all my other ingredients, but I make sure they don’t touch the liquids or the yeast.
Set your bread maker to a ‘Sweet’ cycle if you have one. This recipe makes a 1.5 pound loaf. Enjoy it with some butter!
