Feels like Fall!
It’s really starting to feel like fall, or autumn, as they say over here in the UK. The temperature is dropping (I’m talking 60 degrees F, 16 C) and I’m breaking out all my sweaters and jackets, which to me is always a sure sign of fall. In Texas, where Sofie is, it still won’t be cooling down for a few weeks, but that’s no reason not to get in the autumn mood! For most people, fall is all about apple and pumpkin, which we love, but we want to explore other flavors too. Especially when it comes to bread, it can be difficult to get creative with flavors, but there are some classic combos out there and today’s recipe is definitely one of them.
Weekly Loaf, Why Not?
I love bread, especially when it’s homemade. There’s something about the process of making a loaf and then getting to enjoy the final product that is just so appealing. Plus, when I know exactly what is going into my bread, I can feel a bit better about the amount of sugar or salt in it. Although, store-bought bread is obviously more convenient and sometimes I don’t have time to bake bread. But, most weeks, when I do have the time, I like to bake a loaf on Sunday or Monday for the week ahead. Sometimes it’s rolls or bagels, but our landbrød recipe is actually my go-to option when making a loaf. It turns out so beautiful and delicious every time, and you can easily adjust what you add to the dough depending on what you have on hand. Check it out here: Landbrød.
Today’s Recipe
All this talk about bread must lead somewhere, right? Well, yes. Today’s recipe is for a variation of our country bread recipe with raisins and walnuts. It is a flavor combination that is very balanced, thanks to the sweetness of the raisins and the nuttiness of the walnuts. Plus, you can top it with savory or sweet toppings, which is definitely a bonus. I can just picture the most delicious turkey-apple-cheddar sandwich (a fall staple) being made on this bread. And I’m certain it would also be amazing topped with Nutella or jam!
But the best part about this bread is that there is no kneading required. You just have to do a few “stretch and folds.” Every 30 minutes while the dough is rising, you just wet your hands with a bit of water, reach under the dough and pull the edge up, folding it into the middle. You do this all around the edges of the ball of dough, and it develops the gluten gently, without you having to knead it. This type of artisan or rustic dough is usually wetter than dough for something like a classic sandwich loaf, meaning kneading it would be very messy. And the higher hydration is what gives you the texture that is more open than a sandwich loaf, for example. It’s a great method and makes the bread-making process so much easier!
How to Make Raisin Walnut Bread
As I have explained above, there is no kneading required. Simply combine the dough ingredients into a rough dough, then leave the bread to rise. Complete the stretch and folds every 30 minutes. Then, it’s time to pre-shape, which means loosely creating a loaf and letting this rise again before completing the final shaping. You want to make sure there is plenty of surface tension created, as this gives the loaf its rise. Bake, either using a Dutch oven or just on a baking sheet, and let cool briefly. Then enjoy, definitely with a bit of butter on top while it’s still warm! A little warning: any raisins sticking out of the dough will burn, but just brush them off the loaf when it comes out of the oven and they will come off easily.
Raisin and Walnut Loaf
Ingredients
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active dry yeast, 17.5g fresh yeast)
- 3/4 tbsp sugar
- 300 ml warm water
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 100 grams whole wheat flour
- 300 grams bread or all purpose flour
- 100 grams raisins
- 100 grams walnuts
Instructions
- Combine the yeast and the warm water in a large bowl. If using active dry or fresh yeast, add the sugar as well, then let the mixture sit for a bit (5-10 mins) until it starts to bubble up then move on to step 2. If using instant yeast, you can move on to the next step without waiting.
- Add the sugar (unless you already added it to the active dry/fresh yeast), salt, whole wheat flour, bread (or all purpose) flour, raisins, and walnuts to the water and yeast mixture.
- Stir until you have a scraggly dough and have saturated most of the dry spots. Try to make sure the walnuts and raisins are pretty evenly distributed. If the dough is feeling wet at this point (if it saturated the flour quickly and is very sticky), be sure to add a few more tablespoons of flour! Alternatively, if the dough is very dry, add a tiny bit more water! Once the dough is ready, cover the bowl and let this rise somewhere warm for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, complete your first stretch and fold. Instead of kneading this bread, you are just going to do what is called a stretch and fold. Basically, with slightly damp hands (just run them under water briefly) you will pull up the dough by placing your hands under the left and right side of the dough and stretching it up and out along the edge of the bowl farthest from you. See the process photo!
- Then, fold the dough over itself towards you, pressing it down towards the edge of the bowl closest to you. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees (either way), and repeat three more times, rotating each time (for a total of four folds). See this great blog post from The Clever Carrot for more help with this technique! Once you have completed this first set of stretching and folding, let the dough rise again (covered) for another 30 minutes.
- After the second 30 minutes, complete the second stretch and fold by repeating the same steps above. Let the dough rise again (covered) for 15 more minutes.
- Now you are going to pre-shape the dough. Sprinkle some flour onto a countertop or work surface and tip out your dough onto the surface.
- Roughly shape your dough into a ball. Then, pull the sides into the middle gently, pinching them together at the top like you were shaping a very large bread roll.
- Flip the whole loaf over again on the surface so the seam is facing down. Cover with a towel or cling film and let this rise for another 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, you are going to complete the final shaping of the loaf. Flip the loaf over again so that the seam is facing you. Repeat what you did before – pulling in the sides and pinching them together – but this time, you can be a bit less gentle. You really want to make sure the loaf doesn't spread and you create the necessary surface tension on the dough's surface to get a good rise in the oven.
- Flip the loaf over again so the seam is facing down and transfer to a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Now, put the loaf into the fridge to rise for 20 minutes (this makes it easier to score and helps prevent over proofing, but feel free to leave them at room temperature if your fridge doesn't have space!).
- While the dough is in the fridge, set your oven to 450 F (230 C) and place a metal or cast iron pan/tray on the bottom rack of the oven to heat up and start boiling some water (1-2 cups) on the stove or in a kettle. Make sure you have a second rack in the oven set above the tray. If you are using a Dutch oven, you don't need to do this, but put your Dutch oven with the lid on into the oven to preheat! Don't forget this step as putting a cold Dutch oven directly into a hot oven could cause it to crack.
- After 20 minutes, remove the loaf from the fridge. Dust the top with some extra flour, using your hands to spread it evenly on the surface of the dough.
- Using a very sharp knife or razor blade, score the bread. We make one long cut along the length of the loaf, slightly off center. Try your best to score at a 45-degree angle or less about 1 inch into the loaves. If you'd like to make a pattern, you can do that too! On the opposite edge of the long cut, we sometimes make small cuts to resemble leaves. Read more about scoring here.
- If using a Dutch oven, simply drop the loaf (on the parchment paper it's already sitting on) into the preheated (very hot!) Dutch oven, add the lid, and place into the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid for 5-10 minutes until the bread has formed a beautiful dark crust.
- If using a baking sheet and a metal pan/tray at the bottom of the oven, follow these instructions! While wearing oven mitts and being very careful, pour 1-2 cups of the boiling water into the pan in the bottom of the oven. Quickly place the baking sheet with the loaf into the oven on the rack above the metal tray and immediately close it. Bake for 25 minutes or until it has formed a dark crust.
- Once the bread has formed a lovely dark crust and sounds hollow when you tap it, remove from the oven.
- Let the bread cool for at least 30 or so minutes to an hour before slicing. Enjoy!
I made this raisin walnut bread using the dutch oven method, and I followed the recipe exactly. Wow, I couldn’t be happier with the result. This bread is crusty with a perfect chew. Mmm. I’ll be making this one again and again!
Yay, amazing! So happy to hear it turned out well. We love this one too 🙂 thanks for the comment and thanks for using our recipe!