Bread machines are kitchen appliances which have only really started to grow in popularity over the last ten years or so. Now though there are a substantial number of different models on the market and more and more homes are getting one. Although most of these bread machines come with an instruction booklet that tells you how to make a white or brown loaf, you may be at a loss as to what else you can do with one. You may already own a bread machine and be looking for something else to experiment with in it. Alternatively, you might be looking at buying a bread maker and want to know if you can do anything else in it other than make plain bread loaves.
Well to help you out, here is my recipe for cinnamon raisin bread. This is a great loaf for breakfast in the mornings, and if you have a bread machine with a timer it is quite easy to set the bread maker up so that it is fresh-baked when you wake up for breakfast in the morning.
Ingredients
· 400g wholemeal flour
· 150g bread flour
· 100g raisins or mixed fruit
· 1 ¼ cups of water
· 1 ½ tbsp sunflower oil
· 3 tbsp gluten
· 1 ½ tbsp powdered whey
· 1 ½ tbsp brown sugar
· ½ tsp salt
· ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
· 2 tsp yeast
Method
Once you have all of the ingredients ready, the rest is quite simple.
1. Assemble the pan in your bread machine and get it all ready to go.
2. Place all of the ingredients into the pan of your bread maker.
3. Select the basic cycle on your bread maker, which might also be called the white cycle on some bread machines.
4. Leave the machine to run for 10 minutes and then check the consistency of the dough. If the dough is sticky to the touch this is good - if not add a small amount (1 tsp) water to the mix, leave for a few minutes and then check again. You should keep adding water until the dough gets to a stage where it is tacky to the touch.
5. The bread machine will automatically finish the kneading cycle and then switch to the baking cycle, so you needn't do anything else once the dough is the right consistency.
6. After the bread machine completes the entire cycle then you should leave the bread in the pan for around 10 minutes so that the crust softens a little. You should then remove the bread from the bread maker and stand on a wire rack to cool.
7. Once the bread is cool you should be able to cut the loaf, which is best enjoyed with some butter and a nice cup of tea. This loaf will keep for a couple of days from being baked in your bread maker, but it is best eaten fresh.
