Almond Raisin Monkey Bread

One of the highlights of our productive weekend at home was this amazing Almond Raisin Monkey Bread. I'm sure this is supposed to make way more than eight servings, but it was that delicious!

 Almond Raisin Monkey Bread
2 tsp. yeast
2 large eggs plus undiluted evaporated milk to equal 1 1/3 cups
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup sugar
8 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup slivered or chopped almonds
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp. melted butter

Heat the evaporated milk until warm, between 105ºF and 115ºF. Pour into warmed mixing bowl with eggs, and add yeast. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add salt, sugar, butter, wheat flour and half the bread flour. Beat well. Cover, and let stand 15 minutes.

Add remaining bread flour. Knead the dough until soft and springy but soft to the touch. Knead in raisins and almonds. Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn dough onto lightly greased or floured surface, and punch dough down. Divide dough into 32 pieces. Combine remaining sugar with cinnamon. Dip each piece of dough in melted butter, and roll in sugar mixture. Place dough pieces into greased 10-inch fluted tube pan. Cover, and let rise until doubled, about 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until golden and a wooden skewer comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, and then invert onto a serving plate. Devour!

Whole Wheat Berry Bread

This was one of five batches of bread I created this past weekend since my husband complained our freezer was empty of bread. My loaves fell a bit flat, and again I'll attribute that to my starter swap mishap. (See my post on Oatmeal Sourdough Bread.) Still, the bread has good flavor, and I think it will be delicious for grilled sandwiches.

Whole Wheat Berry Bread
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water, 105ºF and 115ºF


Combine sponge ingredients listed above together. Cover, and let stand 12 to 24 hours until sponge is bubbly and has a sweet and lightly sour aroma. Stir the sponge down. Then proceed with remaining ingredients:

1/2 cup water
1 cup wheat berries
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Heat the water until warm, between 105ºF and 115ºF. Pour into warmed mixing bowl, and sponge and remaining ingredients. Knead until a dough forms that is smooth and springy but soft to the touch. Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn dough onto lightly greased or floured surface, and punch dough down. Divide dough into two pieces, and shape each into a round loaf. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cover, and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Using a sharp knife, slash the top of each loaf. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until golden.Cool on a wire rack.

Wheat Sourdough French Bread

The trick to engaging my husband in bread-making adventures is to promise the reward of French bread. Although this isn't the crustiest, chewiest bread I've made, it still had enough promise in its name that my husband willingly traveled up and down the basement stairs to help me gather supplies. (It was worth it!)

Sourdough Starter
1 cup warm water, between 105ºF and 115ºF
1 cup flour
1/8 tsp. active dry yeast

Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Cover tightly, and let stand 24 to 36 hours, until the starter is bubbly and has a sweet-sour aroma. Cover and refrigerate for storage or use immediately. Replenish after each use with a mixture of half water and half flour. Let stand at room temperature 1 to 2 hours, until bubbly. Cover tightly and refrigerate.

Wheat Sourdough French Bread
2 tsp. yeast
2/3 cup water
1 1/3 cups sourdough starter
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups wheat flour
2 1/2 cups bread flour

Heat the water until warm, between 105ºF and 115ºF. Pour into warmed mixing bowl, and add yeast and room temperature sourdough starter. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add salt, wheat flour and half the bread flour. Beat well. Cover, and let stand 15 minutes.

Add remaining bread flour. Knead the dough until soft and springy but soft to the touch. Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn dough onto lightly greased or floured surface, and punch dough down. Divide dough into two pieces, and shape each into a round loaf. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cover, and let rise until doubled, about 60 to 90 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Using a sharp knife, slash the top of each loaf. (One of my loaves collapsed when I slashed it, so I left the other untouched.) Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until golden.Cool on a wire rack.

Oatmeal Sourdough Bread

The idea of sourdough bread is appealing, but I had the misconception that it would take too long to make the starter. The starter for this bread (and the next post) only required 24 hours to create, which is perfectly doable in a weekend. My loaves turned out dense, and I'm going to attribute that to accidentally using a portion of the wrong starter. Lesson learned: sourdough and whole wheat starters are extremely difficult to accurately scoop out of a recipe when you use the wrong one. 

Sourdough Starter
1 cup warm water, between 105ºF and 115ºF
1 cup flour
1/8 tsp. active dry yeast

Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Cover tightly, and let stand 24 to 36 hours, until the starter is bubbly and has a sweet-sour aroma. Cover and refrigerate for storage or use immediately. Replenish after each use with a mixture of half water and half flour. Let stand at room temperature 1 to 2 hours, until bubbly. Cover tightly and refrigerate.

 Oatmeal Sourdough Bread
2 tsp. yeast
2/3 cup water
1 1/3 cups sourdough starter
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups oats
2 1/2 cups bread flour

Heat the water until warm, between 105ºF and 115ºF. Pour into warmed mixing bowl, and add yeast and room temperature sourdough starter. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add salt, oats and half the bread flour. Beat well. Cover, and let stand 15 minutes.

Add remaining bread flour. Knead the dough until soft and springy but soft to the touch. Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn dough onto lightly greased or floured surface, and punch dough down. Divide dough into two pieces, and shape each into a round loaf. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cover, and let rise until doubled, about 60 to 90 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Using a sharp knife, slash the top of each loaf. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until golden.Cool on a wire rack.

Wheat Berry & Raisin Bread

At first I was perplexed by wheat berries, until I realized they were actually whole wheat kernels. Unfortunately, I had already purchased a bag of wheat berries when I had this epiphany, so my stash of wheat to grind remained untouched for this bread. (Technically, I did grind it for the flour in the recipe.)

Wheat Berry & Raisin Bread
2 tsp. yeast
1 1/3 cups water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. molasses
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
1 cup cooked wheat berries, well drained
1 cup raisins

Heat the water until warm, between 105ºF and 115ºF. Pour into warmed mixing bowl, and add yeast, salt, oil, honey and molasses. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add wheat flour and half the bread flour. Beat well. Cover, and let stand 15 minutes.

Add remaining bread flour. Knead the dough until soft and springy but soft to the touch. Knead in wheat berries and raisins. Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn dough onto lightly greased or floured surface, and punch dough down. Divide dough into two pieces, and shape each into a round loaf. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cover, and let rise until doubled, about 45  minutes.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Bake 25 to 35 minutes, until golden.Cool on a wire rack.

Note: To cook wheat berries, combine 1 cup grain and 3 cups water in medium saucepan. Cover, and bring to a boil. Simmer approximately 45 minutes until tender. Drain well. Store remaining grain in the refrigerator.