Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread

As a cinnamon-lover I just had to include this recipe. Whenever I crave cinnamon, I usually make a nice orange-flavored cinnamon bread. This version, full of sweet raisins and crunchy nuts brought together with my favorite spice, proved to be tough competition for my standard go-to. Recipe from Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice".

The bread takes about 4 1/2 hours to make and yields 2 loaves.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 c bread flour
4 t sugar
1 1/4 t salt
2 t yeast
1 1/4 t cinnamon
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 T shortening, room temperature or melted
1/2 c buttermilk or whole milk, room temperature
3/4 c water, room temperature
1 1/2 c raisins, rinsed and dried
1 c coarsely chopped walnuts

Cinnamon sugar mix: 1/2 c sugar + 2 T cinnamon

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, yeast, cinnamon). In another bowl combine the egg, shortening, milk, and water. Add the second mixture to the dry ingredients and combine until a ball of tacky dough has formed. Add more flour or water if necessary to make the dough workable but not too sticky.

Dump the dough onto a floured work surface and knead for 8 minutes, adding flour as needed. Knead in the raisins and walnuts for an additional 2 minutes until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough. I like to do this in the original mixing bowl to avoid spilling ingredients everywhere when I'm trying to mix them in.

Oil the dough and let it rest in a bowl covered in plastic wrap ~2 hours, until doubled in size.

After the dough has doubled, divide it into 2 equal pieces and roll each one out so it is a rectangle approximately 5'' wide and 1/3'' thick. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix and roll up, pinching closed at the end to make a nice firm loaf. Place in oiled loaf pans and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let sit 60-90 minutes, until the loaves are just peaking above the tops of the pans.

When the loaves are done rising, bake at 350 F for 40-50 minutes, rotating halfway through to ensure an even bake. They are done when they are golden brown and hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Optional: When you remove them from the oven, immediately brush the tops with melted butter (or take solid butter and rub it on, it will melt from the hot bread). Have the cinnamon sugar mix sprinkled on your work surface. Flip the loaves into the cinnamon sugar and roll over to coat.

Cool the loaves minimum 1 hr, recommended 2 hrs, before serving.