Fruit Nut Bran Bread

This is a bread machine loaf at its best: dump everything in the right order, walk away, and come back to a hot, fragrant loaf with crusty edges and a soft, fruit-and-nut-studded crumb. Toasted bran and bran flakes cereal go beyond marketing on this one. They actually bring detectable nutty depth and a hearty chew that white bread doesn’t have.

Sliced almonds and a quarter cup of mixed dried fruit (think raisins, currants, chopped apricots) turn this into a breakfast bread, the kind you toast and butter on a cold morning.

A tablespoon of brown sugar and a single tablespoon of butter is all the sweetness and fat the loaf gets. Bread machine loaves don’t need much; the bran and fruit do most of the flavor work.

Pro Tips

• Add ingredients in the order your machine specifies. Most modern machines want liquids on the bottom, dry on top, with yeast in a separate compartment or on top of dry flour to keep it away from salt and water until mixing starts.
• Toast the bran in a dry skillet for 3 minutes before adding if you want maximum flavor. Pre-toasted bran adds a deeper, almost coffee-like note.
• Use the LIGHT crust setting as the recipe says. Whole-grain breads with sugar burn easily on darker settings.
• Plump the dried fruit in warm water for 5 minutes, then drain well, before adding. Dry fruit steals moisture from the dough and stays leathery.
• Let the finished loaf cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Hot bread machine bread compresses and gets gummy if cut warm.

Variations

• Swap mixed dried fruit for chopped dates, figs or sour cherries for a bolder fruit profile.
• Use walnuts or pecans instead of almonds for a richer, earthier crumb.
• Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and ½ teaspoon cardamom to the dry ingredients for a warmly spiced morning loaf.