Raisin Swirl with a volcano

I was looking for bread with a pre-ferment for Bread Baking Day #37. I wanted to make sweet bread because I was out of raisin bread. This recipe was the answer to both.

The pre-ferment, or sponge, Rose Levy Beranbaum uses, is a volcano. It’s funny to see the sponge rising trough the flour mixture like a volcano. The recipe for this deliciously smelling and tasty raisin bread can be found in “The Bread Bible” by Rose Levy Beranbaum (Cinnamon Raisin Loaf).

I added 125 grams more raisin than Rose and added 50 grams of dried small oranges, lemon peel and plums. I had no 40 gr milk powder for the flour mixture so I left it out.

We had friends over when I was baking the bread and they couldn’t wait to eat it. The whole house smelled like a good raisin swirl with cinnamon sugar or like Christmas? This was not the smell they expected in a house in Thailand.
And, thanks to all the people sharing their good recipes I’m able to enjoy this here in Thailand.


This is what I used:

Sponge:
341 gr flour
405 gr lukewarm water
45 gr honey
2,4 gr dry yeast

Flour mixture:
311 gr flour
2,4 gram dry yeast

Dough:
128 gr soft unsalted butter
12 gr salt

Filling:
270 gr raisin
50 gr dried small oranges, lemon peel and plums
75 gr sugar
9 gr cinnamon

And:
2 bread pans of ± 21 cm, greased
Soft unsalted butter to brush

This is what I did:

Sponge:
Mix the flour, water, honey and yeast in the mixer. Mix for about 2 minutes till the dough is fluffy. Clear the sides of the bowl and cover with plastic.

Flour mixture:
Mix the flour and dry yeast. Divide the mixture over the sponge, cover up and put aside for 1 – 4 hours. The sponge will bubble trough the flour mixture like a volcano.

Dough:
Add the soft butter in small pieces and mix with the dough hook for 1 minute. Clear the sides of the bowl, cover up and put aside for 20 minutes.
Add the salt and mix the dough for 10 minutes. The dough will be very sticky. Don’t add extra flour. After 10 minutes the dough will come together and become smooth dough. At this stage the dough doesn’t stick to the sides and bottom of the bowl. Cover up and put aside for 10 minutes.
Add the raisin, oranges, lemon peel and plum and mix for 2 minutes.


Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover up and put aside to ferment for 1½ - 2 hours or to double in size.

Transfer the dough to the counter and make a rectangle. Fold as a letter. Transfer back to the bowl, cover up and put in the refrigerator for 1 hour.


Prepare the cinnamon sugar; mix the sugar with the cinnamon.


Transfer the dough to the counter, lightly dusted with flour. Divide into 2 equal pieces. Place 1 piece into the refrigerator. Stretch the dough till it has the same size as the bread pan. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture on the dough, leave the sides clear.

Roll the dough into a log. Squeeze the sides and seem. Place the dough with seem into the bread pan. Do the same with the other dough. Cover up with plastic and proof for 1 – 2 hours till it doubles in size.
In the mean time pre heat the oven to 180 ºC.

Bake the loaves in 45 - 50 minutes brown. The internal temperature is between 90 en 95 ºC.

Remove from the bread pan, brush with soft butter and let it cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy it as we have enjoyed this delicious raisin swirl.

I found this at Arden/Levine
I will send this bread to Zorra and to Versatilekitchen, the host of this Bread Bake Day # 37