Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread

This cinnamon raisin sourdough bread is loaded with sweet plump raisins, crunchy walnuts, and a swirl of cinnamon sugar. 

 

This sourdough raisin bread is wonderful for breakfast, toasted and spread with lots of melty butter, or cut into thick slices and made into French toast. 

You can also very thinly slice it, toast it to make crackers, and spread it with a Boursin-style cheese or top it with some prosciutto or thinly sliced salami for a savory sweet appetizer. 

This sourdough bread, with at least one and up to two overnight rises, may take some planning, but most of the time is hands off. Plus, the resulting loaf is loaded with sourdough flavor. 

I made this bread two ways. The first time, I incorporated the raisins and walnuts in the dough. This resulted in an an even distribution of the raisins and walnuts but the raisins may have absorbed some of the water in the dough. 

The second time, I rolled the raisins and walnuts into the dough along with the cinnamon sugar when shaping the final loaf. The resulting interior was much lighter and airer, but the raisins and walnuts kind of bunched up together. 

I suggest soaking the raisins in hot water for at least a couple of hours and then gently incorporating them into the dough. 

If you want to take homemade cinnamon raisin bread to a new level, make it into a rustic sourdough loaf and incorporate two long rises, one at room temperature and one in the refrigerator. The flavor!

Ingredients:

Active Starter - Feed your starter in the morning to wake it up and get it active. If it's been hanging out in the refrigerator for several weeks, you may have to feed it a couple of times to get it going. 

Bread Flour - I strongly prefer unbleached, such as King Arthur.

Whole Wheat Flour - Optional - You can substitute about 20 grams of the bread flour with whole wheat flour to add flavor. 

Salt - I love using fine sea salt but table salt is fine. 

Raisins and Walnuts - You can toast the walnuts if you like. 

Sugar and Cinnamon - use a good quality cinnamon. It is best to swirl the cinnamon and sugar in a layer throughout the bread rather than incorporate it into the dough because cinnamon has been known to slow the fermentation. 

Water - Both for the dough and for soaking the raisins. 

Sample Baking Schedule:

9:00 a.m. Feed your starter. The starter in this recipe is 100 percent hydration (equal parts water and flour by weight but can be made with any kind of grain flour, such as bread, all purpose, whole wheat, spelt, or rye. 

3:00 p.m. Soak the raisins in hot water. Let them sit until you are ready to drain and use them. 

5:00 p.m. Mix all of the dough ingredients together in a large Cambro dough rising bucket or very large bowl with a dough whisk or large spoon, cover the bucket or bowl, and let the ingredients rest for one hour. 

6:00 p.m. Stretch and fold the dough by pulling up the sides of the dough and pulling it over the middle. This develops the gluten and creates surface tension. Cover the bucket/bowl and let it rest for one hour. 

7:00 p.m. Drain the raisins and sprinkle them, along with the walnuts, over the dough. Stretch and fold the dough again, three more times, every thirty minutes. This should continue to develope the gluten, add bouyancy, and incorporate the raisins and walnuts. Cover the dough and let sit at room temperature overnight. 

7:00 a.m. the next day: Spread the dough out, gently, into a 12 inch by 8 inch rectangle, trying not to deflated the dough. Brush the top of the dough lightly with water and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll the dough up lengthwise, and then roll it widthwise. Place it , seam side up, into a floured oval banneton. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it immediately. 

You can refrigerate the dough for three hours and up to 24 hours. Bake between 10:00 a.m. the same day to 7:00 am. the next day. 

Equipment You May Need:

Granite-style Roasting Pan: This is a cold start loaf, meaning you bake it by placing it in a cold oven and turning on the heat. I like using the thinner roaster when using this method. You can also use a baking sheet with an upside down foil roasting pan over the loaf. 

Oval Banneton: You could also simply shape the dough and place it in a floured towel that you clip together with binder clips. It's like a makeshift French couche. 

Cambro 12-quart Bucket: This is one of my favorite vessels for stretching and folding dough. You can oil it and not worry about getting your counter dirty, and you can see how much your dough has risen. A large mixing bowl will also work. 

Danish Dough Whisk: This is a great tool for mixing bread dough ingredients. 

Tips for Success:

To prevent the bread from burning on the bottom. use several layers of foil or parchment between the pan and the bread. You can also use a rack if you have one. Because of the sugar, it's hard to avoid the bottom from becoming blackened. 

Additionally, if your sugar and cinnamon layer is too close to the top, you will also have some burning where you slash the dough. Don't worry too much about this. You can tent the loaf after removing the pan lid if necessary. 

Also, some of the raisins will pop out with the heat of the oven. You can pick off the burned raisins. 

While you may totally want to slice into the bread while it is hot, please resist unless you want a gummy bread. The bread is still baking even though it is no longer in the oven. Patience!

This month, the #BreadBakers are baking breads with spices. Be sure to check out everyone's recipes:

Ajwain Paratha by Cook with Renu

Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread by Karen's Kitchen Stories

Ginger and Earl Grey Bread with Dates by A Messy Kitchen

Sourdough Chocolate Cardamom bread by Zesty South Indian Kitchen

Stuffed Cheesy Braided Turkish Kebab Bread Rolls by Sneha's Recipe

Overnight Sourdough Cinnamon Waffles by Food Lust people Love

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread

Yield: 20 slices

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 1 HourInactive time: 12 HourTotal time: 14 Hour

This cinnamon raisin sourdough bread is loaded with sweet plump raisins, crunchy walnuts, and a swirl of cinnamon sugar.

Ingredients

• 65 grams (1/3 cup) raisins
• 75 grams bubbly active starter
• 365 grams (1 1/2 cups) water
• 500 grams (4 cups) bread flour. You can substitute 20 grams of the bread flour with whole wheat flour.
• 9 grams (1 1/2 teaspoons) fine sea salt
• 50 grams (1/3 cup) toasted walnuts
• 50 grams (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
• 6 grams (2 teaspoons) cinnamon

Instructions

1. About 2 hours before mixing the dough, soak the raisins in hot water. Let them sit until you are ready to drain and use them.
2. Mix the starter, water, flour(s), and salt together in a large bowl or dough rising bucket with a dough whisk or large spoon, cover the bucket or bowl, and let the ingredients rest for one hour.
3. Stretch and fold the dough from all four sides by pulling the dough up and folding it over the middle. Cover the bucket/bowl and let it rest for one hour.
4. Drain the raisins and sprinkle them, along with the walnuts, over the dough. Stretch and fold the dough again, three more times, every thirty minutes. This should continue to devope the gluten, add bouyancy, and incorporate the raisins and walnuts. Cover the dough and let sit at room temperature overnight.
5. The next day, gently spread the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface into a 12 inch by 8 inch rectangle, trying not to deflated the dough. Brush or spray the top of the dough lightly with water and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll the dough up lengthwise, and then roll it widthwise. Place it , seam side up, into a floured oval banneton. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it immediately.
6. Refrigerate the dough for three hours and up to 24 hours.
7. When ready to bake, remove the loaf from the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, and top the dough with parchment paper and a plate. Flip the whole thing over, plate and all, and lift the banneton off of the shaped dough so that the boule is sitting on the parchment on the plate.
8. Using a thin sharp knife or lame with a razer blade, score the dough. The cut(s) should be about 3/8 inch deep. Using the parchment, lift the dough into the pan and top with the lid of the pan.
9. Place the lidded pan with the dough in the oven and set the temperature to 450 degrees F. Bake for 50 minutes with the lid on. After 50 minutes, remove the lid and bake until the loaf is the color you prefer and the internal temperature of the bread reaches about 205 to 210 degrees F. about 5 to 10 minutes more.
10. Remove the loaf to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing.

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2023/06/cinnamon-raisin-sourdough-bread.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

sourdough, cinnamon, raisins

Bread

American

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