I have absolutely no explanation for my current mania for bread baking. It isn’t something new. I’ve known how to bake bread since I was a teenager. But, I have a sourdough started happily stewing in my refrigerator. I made two loaves of sourdough on Monday. Then, I decided to make Some Sort of Raisin Bread. Right now I’m thinking of starting a plain dough to use for making Some Sort of Cinnamon Bread.

Some Sort of Recipe for Some Sort of Raisin Bread

If you have never made bread before, this isn’t a Starter Project. Only because my notes are coming from memory and will be easier to understand if you have made a few loaves.

Sponge

I like to start my breads with a sponge.

Mix together 2 cups of warm water, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon yeast and 1 cup bread flour. Add in 1 cup of warm (not hot) cooked oatmeal and stir. Cover with a cloth and let sit for a couple of hours to make a bubbly sponge.

Dough

Stir 1 cup chopped raisins and 1 cup chopped pecans into the sponge. Stir in orange zest from two oranges. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt. Add flour until able to handle and transfer to a flat surface. Knead while adding a little flour as necessary. Form into two loaves and place into pans liberally sprayed with butter spray. Liberally spray tops of loaves with butter spray.

Let rise until doubled. Bake at 375 for 30 – 35 minutes. Let cool and enjoy