Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Our Cinnamon Raisin Bread has quickly grown to be a popular customer favourite at the bakery. Make it at home and enjoy this well-loved nostalgic favourite. This recipe makes two loaves. 

Cinnamon Raisin Bread
630g Flourist Sifted Red Spring
150g Flourist Whole Grain Red Fife
590g Water (80°F)
160g Sourdough Starter
15g Honey
15g Salt
150g Raisins
15g Cinnamon

Swirl
1 tsp cinnamon
20g granulated sugar

Begin by scaling the raisins in a bowl and covering with water. Set aside. 

In another bowl, combine water, sourdough starter, honey, and flours and mix until combined into a shaggy dough. Let sit for 30 minutes before adding the salt and mixing to combine. Perform a fold on the bread and let sit covered with a tea towel at room temperature for 30 minutes. Fold again and let sit for another 30 minutes. Strain the raisins and add with the cinnamon to the dough once the 30 minutes rest is up. Squeeze into the dough and fold again. Perform two more folds with 30 minute rests in between for a total of 5 folds.

Once the fifth fold and rest is done, invert onto a lightly floured countertop and divide into two. Pre-shape the loaves and let sit for 30 minutes. Combine the cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl and spray two loaf pans. Flip dough over and stretch slightly into a rectangular shape. Brush with water and sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar onto the surface. Fold and spiral into itself, shaping it into a loaf. Place in oiled loaf pans and place in the fridge overnight.

Baking
Pull bread from the fridge and proof at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Check to see if your bread is proofed by pressing a lightly floured finger into the dough. When you remove your finger the indentation you made should remain and only very slightly spring back. Once you reach this stage preheat your oven to 450°F. Set up your racks with one in the middle of the oven and one underneath. Fill a shallow cake pan (you want one that is shallow enough to fit on the bottom rack) with about an inch of water and slide in between the two racks to sit on the bottom rack. 

Lightly score the loaves (this is optional but your bread may naturally crack open if you do not score), and place on the middle rack. Lower the oven to 425°F and bake for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, very carefully remove the cake pan with water from the oven. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the middle of the loaf reads 200°F. Remove from the oven and immediately invert out onto a wire rack to cool.

This recipe may take some tweaking in terms of baking times and temperatures. We found when testing that each of our ovens had a slightly different bake. It is important to check the temperature throughout your bake as this is the most reliable way to ensure that your loaf is fully baked.