At heart, I’m a bread girl. I could go weeks (even months!) without pasta, rice, or potatoes, but bread is a must every day. I love baking bread; I find it the ultimate therapy. Flour dusting, dough rising, yeast bubbling – there’s a magic to bread baking. One of my blog goals for 2013 is to share more bread recipes with you, so I’m starting with this hearty cinnamon-raisin graham bread.
When I spotted this recipe on a package of Bob’s Red Mill graham flour, I was immediately taken with the idea of a healthier cinnamon-raisin bread thanks to the addition of the stone ground, whole grain flour. With a nice outer crust and tender crumb, a toasted slice makes an excellent breakfast – I especially love the chewy raisins and cinnamon-sugar ribbon.
Cinnamon-Raisin Graham Bread
Adapted from Bob’s Red Mill
2 cups flour + additional if needed
1 package active dry yeast
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1 cup low-fat milk
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups graham flour
1 cup raisins
Filling
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Topping
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Place 2 cups flour, yeast, cinnamon, and allspice in a large mixer bowl; stir on low speed for 1 minute. Combine milk, water, maple syrup, butter, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat; stir until butter has almost melted and mixture is warm, 115 to 120°F. Add to flour mixture and beat on low speed for 30 seconds; use a spatula to frequently scrape down sides of bowl. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 3 minutes, until well blended, scraping down sides as needed. Reduce speed to low and add graham flour 1 cup at a time; stir in raisins.
Switch out the flat beater for a dough hook, and knead dough for 6 to 8 minutes until smooth and elastic (you may need to add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time). The dough is ready when it pulls away from bottom of the mixer bowl. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray and cover with plastic. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
Punch dough down and divide in half; turn out on a lightly floured board. Lightly flour hands and knead each portion 4 times; cover and let rest 10 minutes. Roll each portion out into a rectangle; combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Brush dough with melted butter and sprinkle evenly with cinnamon-sugar. Roll each rectangle up lengthwise and tuck in sides; spray two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans with nonstick spray and place dough seam-side down in pans. Cover with plastic and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. In the last 15 minutes of rising, preheat oven to 375°F.
Bake loaves 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and set. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter; return to oven and bake 1 minute more. The loaves should sound hollow when tapped. Carefully remove from loaf pans and cool completely on wire racks before slicing and serving. Store up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature; freeze for longer storage and toast slices as needed.
Yield – 2 loaves, 12 servings per loaf (serving size: 1 slice)
Calories – 152
Carbs – 28
You are right, there is definitely a magic about bread baking. This looks amazing, Laura!
I’m a bread girl too! I go to restaurants and stuff myself with the free bread before starting on the main course!
And I can totally make dinner out of this cinnamon raisin bread too! I don’t bake much with yeast but I’m hoping that changes this year!
That is an interesting Cinnamon Raisin bread with the graham flour! My son loves C-R Bread but I have never made one – I usually buy a sprouted Cinnamon-Raisin Ezekiel. I may have to try this one though!
Bread fresh from the oven is such an outstanding way to begin the day. And warm bread paired with cinnamon raisin is so scrumptious! The addition of whole grains are not only better for us, they keep our appetite better regulated. We are full longer. The Cinnamon Raisin Graham Bread is a tempting recipe for a healthier New Year!
I’m totally a bread girl. And I love the sound of this recipe. I have some Bob’s graham flour in my pantry now. I can’t wait to try!
Looks really appetizing, Laura, I love this kind of breads with nuts and raisins inside (perfect for a sweet-tooth like me ;-) Delicious for breakfast.
Happy New Year!
ever since i got over my fear of yeast, i love baking my own breads. this one is no exception – i saw another blogger post a very similar one today and clearly I need to make a cinnamon swirl bread of some sort! Yours looks so soft and fluffy. I love that crust!
Beautiful bread, Laura. When I first peeked at it on Facebook I was wondering what kind of bread you were making. I did guess raisin bread, but what a surprised that it’s also made with graham flour! Nice!
Laura, this looks beautiful! I could never make bread that looked so pretty!
A perfect loaf of bread! It’s inspiring me to face my intolerable fear of yeast. :D
What a beautiful loaf! I love homemade bread. . .it tastes amazing and makes the house smell wonderful! :)
Laura, that is gordg!! All those swirls and raisins… oh man! Love it! I am also a lover of bread, but I don’t bake it as often as I would like to.
What a lovely loaf of bread! Graham is a flour I have yet to try…will have to change that :)
Can’t wait to see more bread recipes from you. I love baking fresh bread, this sounds delicious!
I’m a bread girl, too…I’d rather eat bread than even cookies! And I love a hearty bread like this one…beautiful loaf!
Raisin bread is something I grew up with and until now, I still look for it. Mmmm, can’t find it in Italy. :-( This awakened my yearning for raisin bread again. Thanks Laura for the lovely recipe!
I’m moving in with you! I want fresh bread every day, dang it!
Fabulous! Laura, this looks amazing! I’f be afraid if I started with a piece I’d just keep on going…….. and I can only imagine the aroma as it bakes]d!
I love bread but don’t make it nearly often enough. I’m so glad you’re planning to share more bread recipes this year!
You have to be a true Italian. They can’t eat, as I’m sure you know, without bread. This looks so well made.
Love this bread everyone needs a good cinnamon raisin bread! I can taste it now sprinkled with cinnamon sugar yum :)
I don’t make nearly enough bread – I should make a goal to make more this year. Starting with this bread!!
So happy to hear your new year resolution is similar to mine. I am hoping to bake more this year and that includes making bread! With my life going in and out of the house all the time, I’m not sure how I can arrange my time to rise the dough etc… but I need to study a bit. This bread looks so good. I love really good bread too!
Wow! This sounds so fabulous!!!!
Look at that lovely spiral! :D And we can now get that brand here in Australia which is great!
I wish I had a slice to toast right now! Laura, I didn’t know you created gorgeous breads too! I’ll sure look forward to your blog goal of more breads this year!
Your bread came out PERFECT! Like right out of a bakery. I just wish I had a toasted slice right now with a bit of butter and hot cup of coffee!! Happy New Year!!
I really, really wish I had a loaf–nope, not just a slice–of this bread. Cinnamon Raisin is one of my al-time favorites. Looking forward to your bread recipes this year. :)
Bread will always be my ultimate vice!
Okay this is it. We can’t buy graham flour here but I’m sure we must be able to find the grain and grind our own. I’m on a mission because I want to make this bread! :)
I totally agree, baking bread is really theraputic
I love everything about it and this sounds like a real treat!
I love anything with cinnamon
any kind of graham bread sounds pretty amazing! This stuff looks great.
I think you are so brave for loving to make bread so much! I am constantly fearful that my yeast isn’t going to “work” properly and that I am always doing something not exactly correctly! But, you have inspired me so I am actually making cinnamon swirl bread as I write this! Thanks and your bread is so beautiful and looks delicious!
graham bread sounds wonderful! i’d love a slice of this with my coffee!
Yes, please, more bread recipes in 2013 will be perfect. It’s one of my goals too – well, to bake more, that is. I love cinnamon raisin anything for breakfast, each and every morning. Definitely want to try this, Laura!
I love the graham flour here – incentive to try baking with it myself :) Looking forward to seeing more beautiful bread on Tutti Dolci – Happy New Year, Laura!
Laura this is gorgeous and I love sharing bread recipes, too. I have quite a few for raisin and/or cinn-raisin bread I’ve already shared. I love my raisins & cinnamon and yours looks awesome. Love that you used maple and graham flour in it, too!
A beautiful bread! Lovely texture and flavors.
Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Rosa
Beautiful cinnamon raisin bread!
I just happen to have a bag of graham flour that needs to get used up and I can’t think of a better use for it then this lovely bread recipe;-)
Love your goal for 2013! I adore bread and all the warm, cozy feelings evoked from baking it. Graham bread is a favorite of ours – my mom baked a quick bread with graham flour when I was growing up. I like your cinnamon-raisin variation and can’t wait to try it! Happy new year!
Two loaves in the oven now and the house smells heavenly…my boys will be very happy when they get home! Thanks for sharing.
I am so with you, I am a bread girl too!!!! Your bread looks AMAZING:-) Sorry I haven’t stopped by in awhile, hope you are well:-) Hugs, Terra