Sunday, October 11, 2009

BBA Slow & Steady #9: Cinnamon Raisin Bread Roundup


Although I'm a bit behind on posting the roundups, the bakers of Slow & Steady subgroup of the BBA Challenge have been oh-so-steadily (if slowly) baking our way through Peter Reinhart's book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. This bread - Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread - was baked as a loaf bread by all of the S&S bakers, and was universally loved.

Karen, of the blog Shortbread, put together an epic BBA post - ciabatta, cinnamon rolls and cinnamon raisin walnut bread all in one fell swoop. Her loaf is so pretty (pictured above), and Karen found it a "terrific" breakfast bread. Here's her post: Bread Baking Blitz Ciabatta, Cinnamon Buns, and Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sarah, of Blue Ridge Baker, "loved everything" about this bread, especially the generous amount of raisins and nuts. No "raisin-poor" bread here! Read her post: BBA Challenge: Cinnamon Raisin Pecan Bread post

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Natalia of Gatti, Fili e Farina enjoyed this bread which she made using her own sourdough starter. She loved the bread so much - toasted with jam - that she missed it when it was gone. I know that feeling! Her post: BBA Slow and Steady Cinnamon Raisins Hazelnuts Bread


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jessica (of The Singleton in the Kitchen) and her inner 5 year old were not in the mood for more sweet yeast bread, but they baked this bread and both of them ended up loving it! Wonder if they'll feel the same way about the cranberry walnut bread (the last sweet bread in BBA for a good long while). Jessica's post: BBA S&S: Cinnamon Swirl Bread


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This bread turned out to be a forgotten pleasure for Di, of Di's Kitchen Notebook, one of those foods that she doesn't often remember but loves to eat. She subbed some whole wheat flour and made one loaf with and one without the optional cinnamon swirl. My bet is that Di won't forget about this bread any time soon. Di's post: To swirl or not to swirl


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Kayte of Grandma's Kitchen Table titled her post BBA Challenge: Cinnamon Raisin Walnut bread but really there were no walnuts in sight, as her family persists in not liking nuts in their baked goods. Kayte reports that this was the best cinnamon raisin bread she's ever eaten, adding: "make this one even if you don't make anything else!"


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Leslie of Lethally Delicious typically purchases an artisan version of cinnamon raisin bread, but she realized, "I guess I'm an artisan now, because this was a ringer for my favorite loaf," and is happily contemplating how she'll bake and enjoy her future loaves of this bread. Her post: BBA - Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Overcoming a few misgivings, Audrey of Food From Books welcomed shortening into her home just for this week's bread recipe. She made her bread cinnamon raisin pecan swirl and loved the crumb and the taste, although she'd reduce the cinnamon in the dough next time. Bread Baker's Apprentice #9- Cinnamon Swirl Bread


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
After years of bread machine loaves, Margaret of Tea and Scones has discovered a love of baking bread by hand. Even though she isn't the biggest fan of raisins, she put them in this bread and found the end result "sweet, earthy, great for toasting."


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Despite a "mutant swirl" that was reminiscent of punctuation marks, Cathy of The Tortefeasor, loved her cinnamon walnut swirl bread. She also took a minute to reflect on how much she loves baking bread, observing: "It's like a little miracle happens every time that dough rises." That's something that the rest of the Slow and Steady bakers would agree with! Cathy's post: BBA: Cinnamon Raisin(less) Walnut "Swirl" Bread


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Our family has always held cinnamon raisin bread near and dear to our hearts, and I found that this recipe (which I modified to add some whole grain flour) met or exceeded my "gold standard," Rudi's. I also baked the transitional cinnamon raisin bread from Reinhart's Whole Grain Bread book, and liked it even more! Read my post here: The Quest for a Perfect Cinnamon Raisin Bread {bba}

Come back in the next few days for more BBA goodness - we're about to exit the "C" section of the book!

8 comments:

Di said...

Great round-up, Nancy! Now you've got me thinking it might be time to make some more raisin bread. =)

NKP said...

Mmmm, cinnamony goodness! I am missing this bread now, I'll have to make it again soon.

TeaLady said...

Very nice 'article' about us S and S bakers. Everyone's bread looks soooo good.

Thanks for doing this.

Anonymous said...

I saw a lot of these posts, but seeing them all together convinced me that I must try this bread. I really love cinnamon raisin bread and it sounds like this is a recipe not to be missed!

Audrey said...

Hmmm. For some reason, I'm suddenly thinking about snow, and comfortable PJs, and a big mug of hot cocoa, and a plateful of buttery cinnamon bread toast!

Leslie said...

Excellent and inspiring round up, as usual! These are some beautiful loaves of bread. How I wish I had some in the freezer!

Laura said...

I loved this bread and I never posted about it. It made wonderful toast the next morning!

Anonymous said...

Great round-up as always!