Glazed Raisin Bread p. 434

OOops, I forgot to glaze the "Glazed Raisin Bread". I suppose it is not too late. We only ate half the loaf straight out of the oven!

It was so deliciously good! The raisins were soft and plump, the loaf was full of raisins and the crust was crispy and sweet. I wanted to eat more and more and more! I guess butter and eggs will do that to you! I guess I didn't press out the bubbles after the first rise quite enough, since there is a big hole through the top of the loaf. I think if I had glazed it too, I likely would not have gotten any for myself! Definately a make-again!

Nuts and raisins Quick Bread

A while ago, we found a recipe in the newspaper for a whole wheat, nut filled Quick bread. I made it a couple of times now, and tonight I felt like having it again. It has tasted different all three times! That's because the main source of nuts has changed - the first time I used boxed granola and muslix cereal mixed together, the second time, I used walnuts and pecans and tonight I used a combination of peanuts, raisins and home-made granola. I still liked the first one best, but tonight's was almost as good. I ate it for dessert. And, oddly enough, my biggest raisin-hater had two pieces! I guess he liked the nuts.

This is a very hearty loaf. One piece is so full of nuts, raisins and whole wheat flour that you'll fill up in no time! A far cry from the delicate and soft yeast rolls I told you about a month ago.

Here's the recipe from the paper:

Hearty Nut Quick Bread

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups white flour

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

1/2 cups rolled oats

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 cup cold butter

1 cup nut&seed trail mix

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup craisins

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 egg

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk together first 7 ingredients.
• Cut in cold butter until it looks like coarse meal.
• Chop the nuts and seeds to chop the larger nuts.
• Add nuts, seeds & fruit to the mixture. Mix.
• In a small bowl, whisk egg into buttermilk.
• Pour wet into dry and mix until almost combined. Then tip onto a floured surface and knead it all together. Split into 2 balls.
• Place each ball on a baking sheet. Cut large, deep "X" in each.
• Bake at 350 for 30 - 35 minutes. (Or longer, in my experience. Check that a toothpick comes out dry).

If you're looking for something hearty, satisfying and nutty, give this one a try. It is easy and well worth trying! Crunch, Crunch!

Raisin-Nut Bread p. 443

This should be called "Amazing Braided Raisin-Nut Bread". It mixed up beautifully, it used the amount of flour it called for, it rested and rose according to plan and it tasted light, fluffy, soft and delicious! Maybe it was the sun streaming in my kitchen that warmed the kitchen enough to make a perfect bread or maybe it was just a good recipe, but I can't say enough good things about it.

Here is what it looked like before baking. I was rising it in my sunny bay window in the kitchen. Ahhh, beautiful! Then I baked it for 25 minutes and it looked even more fabulous.

Every delicious braid filled with nuts and raisins. Then there is a glaze to top it off! What a treat. Reminds me of the Swedish tea rings my mother makes at Christmas. 

Look at that! It smelled heavenly. I didn't want to stop to take pictures - especially since it was noon.

I had to have a bite! I quickly took a picture before I devoured that piece. It was wonderful!

I've already marked this recipe "fabulous!" in the book! I hope for more delicious surprises like this as I go through the book.