When I came across this recipe in my King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook, I was hesitant because of my intense dislike for raisins. But, since the other recipes I have tried from this cookbook have been so amazing I decided to test this one out. (It also had a little something to do with the bag of rye berries that have been sitting in my pantry for the past… well I don’t even remember)
I had to change this recipe a bit as the bread was heavy and took a long time to rise. It still takes a long time, but it is worth it!
This bread is so delicious, I could have eaten the whole loaf! The raisins add just the right amount of sweetness without the raisin taste! If you love raisins you could add them to the dough, but why ruin such a beautiful thing?
Sweet Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of orange juice
- 2 tablespoons of water
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tablespoons of honey
- 1/4 cup of raisins packed
- 2 tablespoons of firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup of milk lukewarm
- 2 cups fresh milled whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup medium or white rye flour
- 1 cups unbleached flour
- 1 1/3 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoons instant yeast
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor blend together orange juice, water, oil, honey, raisins, and brown sugar until the raisins look like little specks.
- Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl mix warm milk and yeast.
- Then add orange juice mixture.
- Mix together for about 30 seconds.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the salt and then the flours.
- First add rye, then unbleached, then wheat. Do not add all the wheat at once. Add it slowly until you get the correct “bread-like” consistency.
- Knead for about 10 minutes.
- Let the bread rise in a warm location until doubled. This could take up to an hour and a half.
- Punch down and shape into a loaf. I braided my loaf and it turned out really pretty.
- Let rise for another hour.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or so.
- Brush the crust with butter and serve.
- This bread tastes even better if you have a little helper to measure all the ingredients and turn on the mixer for you.
Cherrill says
That is a sweet looking loaf of bread! Did having your little helper just helped her get a math lesson in? My dd had an anxiety attack over school yesterday so now we are in a whole new mode.
Jacqueline says
This looks so beautiful. Your braid is really a nice touch. I would leave the raisins out too. I don’t really dislike them, as in cookies and salads, but I don’t care for them in bread. I am sure it is yummy either way.
Deanna says
I am currently ‘rising’ one of these loaves. I was so excited to see the recipe, especially when I saw the orange juice, brown sugar ad raisins. Of course, I didn’t have raisins today but I DID have dried cherries so…..we’ll see! I can’t wait to taste it!