Cinnamon-Raisin Bread | Baking with Dorie

Strangely, no one seems to like this bread in my house. The bread hangs out on the kitchen counter for a week without being eaten. It’s somewhat unusual and comical! Considering this is my first cinnamon raisin bread, chances are you won’t see much of this kind of bread anytime soon. Fortunately or unfortunately, the quality of artisan breads we have access to or produced in my home oven are very high.

No one in my family, by and large, is a picky eater. But, sometimes, he/she may turn into a cranky eater. For the most part, anything goes in my kitchen. It’s the abiding ethos that food waste is not acceptable.

I don’t know whether it’s a matter of flavor, texture or personal preferences, or all of the above. For some reasons, the cinnamon raisin bread is not getting much love. I hear comments like… “The bread is too soft; it lacks flavor.” “It tastes like a jazzed up over-spiced Wonder Bread.” Really! Besides, from a baker’s perspective, I do think the recipe needs work and adjustment to be perfect.

What I mean is, I’d prefer to have some (up to 50%) whole grain flour, instead of 100% all-purpose, to give the bread more chew and texture. The oven spring is over the top: its crumb structure rises beyond what the 9 and 9 1/2-inch loaf pan can support. The oversized dough (totaling 1100 grams) makes it too weighty to throughly bake without the crust getting excessively browned. A 15-20% reduction in the weight of the dough seems appropriate, in my opinion.