Sourdough Raisin Spice Bread

Phew!!  This took a while to get sorted out… Sourdoughs take longer to rise than traditional breads, and my Raisin Spice Bread takes longer to rise than just a plain Sourdough, so this took a while to get right (several tries & lots of hours of not-so-patient waiting)… finally success!!  I need to try a free-standing version again (check back for updates), but this mini-loaf version worked like a charm.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (instructions based on my Kitchenaid model) place:

  1 cup of Sourdough Starter

  19 oz (by weight) of Bread Flour

  8 oz (by measure) of Warm Water

Put the stirring paddle attachment on the mixer and briefly mix the ingredients together on the lowest setting (mine says “Stir”), just long enough to blend (at most a minute).

Remove the stirring paddle, cover the bowl with a towel, and let sit 1/2 hour.

Put the dough hook attachment on the mixer, then add to the bowl:

  5.5 oz (by weight) Sugar

  4 oz (by weight) Golden Raisins

  2 tsp Salt

  2 tsp Cinnamon

  1 tsp Ginger

  1/2 tsp fresh ground Nutmeg

  1/4 tsp Cloves

Knead for 3 minutes on a low setting (I use “2”).

Turn the dough into a bowl sprayed with Olive Oil (see my Toys tab for information about the Misto oil sprayer), spray the dough lightly with Olive Oil, cover with a towel and allow to rest for about 5 hours in a warm (about 72 degrees F) location.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board, gently press & fold it a bit, split into 4 even portions then form each into a mini-loaf, once formed place the dough in a mini-loaf pans (I have a stoneware 4-loaf pan), cover with a towel and allow to rest for about 5 hours more in a warm location.

Covered it with plastic wrap & refrigerated overnight, the next morning I take it out and set it in a warm location for about 4 hours.

About 45 minutes before baking place a cast iron pan on the rack below the one you'll use for your bread, set the oven to 375 F and let everything heat up nicely.

Baking: place the bread in the oven.  Put 1 cup of water into the cast iron pan (adds steam to the oven) and close the oven.  Bake for 30 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from loaf pans.  Note: you may need to adjust time if you're not using stoneware loaf pans.