Vix Vivax--Romulan Raisin/Walnut Bread
Submitted by Becki
A big-batch yeasted bread enriched with sour cream, butter, and molasses, studded with golden raisins and walnuts. Makes 4 loaves that freeze beautifully.
YIELD
4 loavesPREP
4 hrsCOOK
60 minREADY
5 hrsThis gloriously named bread (the Romulan part is pure fun, the bread is pure substance) makes four generous loaves of soft, enriched yeast bread loaded with golden raisins and crunchy walnuts.
The dough gets its richness from butter, sour cream, and a touch of molasses that gives the crumb a subtle caramel depth. It’s a project bread that takes about 5 hours from start to finish, but most of that is hands-off rising time.
Slice it warm from the oven and it barely needs butter. Toasted the next morning, it’s even better.
Baker’s Tips
- Test the milk temperature on the inside of your wrist before adding the yeast. If it feels too hot, wait. Dead yeast means flat bread.
- Knead for the full 15 to 20 minutes. The dough should feel stretchy and spring back when you poke it.
- This recipe makes 4 loaves on purpose. Bake all four, eat one warm, and freeze the rest. They thaw beautifully.
- Brush the egg wash on right before baking for a glossy, bakery-style crust.
Variations
- Swap golden raisins for dried cranberries and walnuts for pecans for a holiday twist.
- Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg to the dough for a spiced version.
- Shape into round boules instead of loaf pans for a rustic look.
Ingredients
Directions
Scald the milk.
Add the butter, sugar, molasses and salt.
Let it cool for about 10 minutes and add the sour cream, beating with a wire whisk to mix it all thoroughly.
Pour it into a large bowl.
When the liquid is cool enough so that a drop on the inside of your wrist is not hot enough to hurt, add the yeast.
(if you add yeast to the hot mixture, you will kill the yeast and the bread will not rise.)
Add about 5 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, and mix it well with the liquid, breaking up lumps as you mix.
Add raisins and walnuts.
Add flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough is no longer very sticky; it should be right when you have added about 12 cups.
Sprinkle out about ¼ to ½ cup flour onto a clean board or countertop.
Dump the dough onto the floury place and scrape out the bowl onto the dough.
Wash, dry and grease the bowl.
Now, knead the dough for about 15 to 20 minutes using up the last of the flour.
It should feel stretchy and elastic.
Put the dough into the greased bowl and grease the top.
Cover it will a damp cloth and set it in a warm place to rise.
It may take as much as 2 hours until it is double in bulk.
When it has doubled in bulk, flour a place on the counter, dump it out and knead it again for about 5 minutes.
Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and grease 4 bread pans.
Shape the dough into loaves and put 1 in each pan.
Cover the pans with a damp cloth and let the dough rise until about double in bulk, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 325℉ (160℃), brush the tops of the loaves with beaten egg, and put them in the oven.
Bake at 325℉ (160℃) for 30 minutes and then at 300℉ (150℃) for another 30 minutes.
The loaves will sound “hollow” when tapped when they are done.
Take them out of the oven as soon as they are done.
Turn them out of the pan onto cake racks.
The bread is best served warm, but it may be cooled and then frozen to save.
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