February 4th, 2009 
duodishes 
Both members of the Duo recently received KitchenAids during the holiday season. Take a look at your calendar. You will notice that is currently February, and we’re just brushing off the dust and plugging them in. Funny how you can spend years and years pining for something, and then when it arrives, you’re so used to antiquated methods (like stirring cookie batter with a wooden spoon) that you forget you’ve been gifted with technological advances. But we digress. Whipping up homemade bread has been on the to-make list for the longest time, and now that our respective kitchens have been bestowed with what can only be seen as one of the foodie’s number one appliances, it is now time to get to bakin’. We do not profess to be mavens in all things culinary, so it can be a little nervewracking to tangle with leavening agents like yeast and the thought of having to beat down a sack of dough. But everyone else has done it, and so like a lemming, we followed the crowd. Lucky for us, the KitchenAid did all of the arm work.
After reading a million recipes and finalizing our own plan of action, we finally came up with something that we hoped would work. And it did! We are firm believers in the transformative wonders of homemade bread slathered with your topping of choice. Nothing can compare! As for all of that flipping and smacking, well, if you don’t have a KitchenAid, prepare to roll up your sleeves and get to work! If you’re interested in joining the baking challenge as well, check out the Bake Your Own Bread (BYOB) Challenge for 2009 here.
Cinnamon Raisin Pecan Bread – Makes 2 loaves
2 cups warm water
2 packets active dry yeast
5 -6 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 cup nonfat powdered milk
1/2 cup grapeseed oil plus more for oiling bowl
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
5 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup dark raisins
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup pecans, toasted & chopped
1 egg white, whisked
1. In a small bowl, combine warm water, vanilla and brown sugar until dissolved. Add yeast. Let sit until foamy, approximately10 minutes.
2. In electric mixer, add 4 cups flour, powdered milk and salt. Mix using the dough hook on low speed for 1 minute. Slowly pour in oil and yeast mixture and continue mixing at medium-low speed, approximately 7 minutes. Add 1 cup flour, raisins and pecans, and mix on medium-low speed until dough clings to hook, approximately
3 minutes. Add more flour if necessary, but no more than 6 cups total.
3. Transfer to an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, approximately an hour.
4. Spray two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans generously and set aside. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, and cut in half.
5. Roll one half of dough into a rectangle. Brush dough with melted butter and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar. Starting at a short end, roll up dough and seal along crease. Turn the ends under. Transfer to pan, seam side down, and cover loosely. Repeat process with second piece of dough, making sure to leave a bit of cinnamon sugar mixture left. Let loaves rise again, approximately an hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
6. Brush tops of loaves with egg white, and sprinkle each loaf with any remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake 15 minutes; lower oven to 350 degrees, and bake 30 minutes more or until top is golden brown. Remove from oven. Allow to cool before slicing.
Click HERE for the printable recipe.
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Oh, wow, does this look good. I can just imagine how wonderful it smells!!! Great job!
I let my kitchenaid do all the slapping around here…your bread/cake/loaf looks fantastic
Well done! This bread looks good! I haven’t a Kitchen aid but I have a Kenwood 1200 Watt!
The bread looks wonderful – cinnamon, raisins, and pecans sounds like a winner combo for me!
Congratulations on the mixers! Bread looks sooo tasty, great job.
The bread looks wonderful! Chock full of goodies. I love using wooden spoons!
Congratulations for the great gifts! Even though I would love one mixer like that, I don’t think I would use it to make bread. There is something magical about kneading your own dough for bread and sweating all over it. Or maybe I am just full of crap, LOL
Great recipe
That looks so good! I’m experimenting with some bread baking this week too. Hoping mine works too!
Looks good! I don’t have a Kitchen Aid, but I actually enjoy kneading. Convenient, huh?
I would die without my kitchen Aid! You will have many years of baking bliss!
What colors did you get? And I love the recipe.. I should make that for my hubby.. he would love it!
I love my kitchen aid! My dad was a chef growing up, so we always had one. He made tons of great stuff out of it, including homemade sausage with the meat grinder (I haven’t gotten that far yet!). My Mom gave me one a few years ago and I use it several times a week.
I totally am an old fashioned girl too…I know I have gadgets around the kitchen and still I’m so used to doing it the way mom or my grandma did it!! I need to come into the 21st century!!! LOL
That bread look so good…would make some good sandwiches too!
Dear me, that bread looks inviting! Well done, Duo! I know what you mean about growing used to doing things the old fashioned way … took me awhile to remember that I had a Kitchen Aid once I got mine too. How funny! Though now I’ve grown so used to it that I don’t know how I managed without it. Happy baking!
This looks great, there’s nothing better than homemade bread!
I am still pining after a KitchenAid (how many years has it been now I wonder?!)… As for your cinnamon-raisin-pecan bread – that sounds like a great way to start your bread baking adventure!
Oooh, you guys made out well for Christmas. Santa was definitely good to you!
And it must be karma if both of us are writing about cinnamon-raisin bread this week. But then, one can never have too much cinnamon-raisin bread.
Color me green with envy, but I shouldn’t complain. For Christmas I did get a Cuisinart food processor and a 4″ japanese global chef knife. I’ve only cut my thumbs four times, so I’d say its going good.
You’ve totally read my mind — making my own bread is on my list of “to-do’s” for 2009! I’ll probably end up doing Mark Bittman’s no-knead version the first time though.
Bet it smelled heavenly in your kitchen! Plus it has butter so I’m hooked!
Yes! This is what it’s all about – toasted slices of cinraispecan bread slathered in buttah! My KitchenAid mixer is teal – it matches absolutely nothing in my kitchen but it dominates the counter, as it should.
I bet that’d make a damn fine French toast, too.
Nice! Love the swirls, and thank goodness for Kitchenaids!
Really like raisin bread, pecan addition make it even more delicious.
Cheers,
Elra
What a great bread! Nice flavor combo too!
Cheers,
Rosa
Lucky you (two!)! I’ve been wanting a kitchenaid ever since moving here but….my counterspace will not allow for anymore appliances. The gelato machine stands in its place!
mmm sounds heavenly!!!
i’m gonna have to schedule a little smackdown of my own this weekend
I LOVE my Mom’s kitchen aid(nope, don’t have my own yet) and your bread looks so good. Thanks Duo Dishes for wanting to see my recipes!
This looks wonderful. When I was a kid, cinnamon raisin toast for breakfast was a special treat… I can almost smell it in the toaster as I type.
As for the KitchenAid – I’ve had mine for less than a year and I don’t know how I lived without it. It took me a while to work up to using it though
I just received one for Christmas. I can’t believe I lived all these years without one. This bread is fantastic.
I recently got a new kitchen aid also! I’ve used it for cookies, etc. but not bread yet. Maybe this weekend I can do just that!
Mmm looks good! I recently picked up a copy of the much lauded Artisan Bread in 5 Minute a Day and have been baking like a madman. I don’t think I can ever go back to store bought bread.
Looks great! I’m glad you’ve gotten the mixers out of the box! Soon, you’ll be unable to live without it.
Nice loaf.. Maybe you should just send one of your extra KAs over here to free up some space
Is the kitchen aids something? Once you have used it, there’s no looking back! Have fun making more bread with it. I miss mine at home.
One thing I was afraid of while pining for a KitchenAid was that once I got it I won’t use it. Fortunately the fear was unfounded because I make regular use of it and it is a very worthwhile purchase.
Love the swirls in your bread!
oh man, i have total kitchen aid love. i dont’ even remember life before it. i highly recommend the sausage attachment and DEF. the pasta roller attachment. my life hasn’t been the same…
There is nothing like the taste and smell of homemade bread.
Can’t wait to try this.
That bread looks good! It has been too long since I last had a nice raisin bread.
How delicious! Can I have one slice?
Great recipe to christen your KA with! It looks scrumptious and I can only imagine how nice it smells in the oven