Friday, March 17, 2017

BBB: Cinnamon Raisin Struan Bread

Struan:  a special bread made from all the grains harvested during the year

This month, Elle, of Feeding My Enthusiasms, was our Kitchen of the Month.  While organizing her cookbook collection, she came upon one that 'called' to her:  Sacramental Magic in a Small Town Cafe, written in 1994 by Peter Reinhart.  That particular book shared a recipe for Cinnamon Raisin Struan Bread, and, in turn, Elle shared it with us.



The bread has tons of flavor from the various grains:  coarse-grained cornmeal (or polenta), rolled oats, cooked brown rice, and wheat bran.  Since I don't store large quantities of wheat bran, I went to my local Smart & Final store, where I browsed the bins.  As luck would have it, I found coarse-grained polenta in addition to the bran, so, after purchasing small amounts of both, I was ready to bake.  I usually keep cooked brown rice in the freezer, and always have rolled oats (and buttermilk) on hand.

I used golden raisins in the bread -- a personal preference, but I suspect other dried fruits would work as well.

The original recipe makes three large loaves. Because I only have two 9x5 pans, I made one-third of the recipe, calculating all the ingredients as precisely as I could (lots of 2 tablespoons 2 teaspoons!).  It all baked up just fine.  I suspect some of the other Babes did a similar thing, so check their blogs for other versions.   The original recipe can be found on Elle's blog, so you can decide which one to bake.

I also used my stand mixer to knead the dough for the suggested fifteen minutes.  Saves the hands and frees you up to do other tasks.  My initial rise took a bit longer than an hour, closer to two, but the second rise was right on target.  It's probably because my kitchen/house is on the cooler side.



Before I rolled the dough, I brushed it lightly with melted butter, then sprinkled on the cinnamon sugar.  I did add some on the top of the loaf, however, I would skip that next time and just add more to the inside.



If you wish to bake along this month, send your photos and story to Elle by the 29th to be included in the Buddy Roundup.

And, since I still have some polenta and wheat bran remaining, I suspect I'll be baking this delicious loaf again.





9 comments:

hobby baker Kelly said...

I only have two pans too, but I made one loaf using Elizabeth's weights to divide it. Now I want to make two more! I love the golden raisins!

Katie Zeller said...

I think the golden raisins are so pretty in the bread.... Plus I prefer them lol

Cathy (Bread Experience) said...

Lovely loaf! I really do like those golden raisins. I only made two loaves as well, but I used a slightly different formula. This was a great bread regardless!

Karen said...

I did the same thing with the measurements and hope I got it right! Kind of eyeballed the smaller amounts of grains. Love the golden raisins!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Seems most of us prefer the golden raisins!
Gorgeous crumb on a beautiful loaf!!

Aparna said...

Beautiful loaf Judy. I did the same things - made 1/3rd the recipe and used golden raisins. :)

Lien said...

Golden raisins seems to put up a lot in the Babes' bakes, very pretty and delicious too. Lovely loaf Judy!

Karen Baking Soda said...

I do love golden raisins for their looks in bread, they sometimes are a bit harder to find though. Love the looks of your bread. The brushing did give that extra oomph dont you think?

Elizabeth said...

Golden raisins do look lovely but I foolishly have a deep-seated horror of them.

I hope I remember to brush the bread! It really does look beautiful!