Rum Raisin Bread and a Cookbook Winner

by Kirsten on May 2, 2011 · 12 comments

in Breakfast, Cakes & Sweets, Desserts, German Dishes, Misc. Sweets

In my quest of mastering the secrets of yeast dough I thought it would be handy to have a recipe that allows the dough to rest over night in the fridge, so it would be ready and baked in time for breakfast. I found this “cold yeast dough” recipe by the Austrian chef Johann Lafer searching on some of my preferred German sites.

The dough gets prepared the evening before and is set in the fridge over night to rise. In the morning you bring it back to room temperature for another rise and it is ready for the oven.

The recipe is very versatile and lets you add nuts, spices, or other ingredients you like.  I decided on rum soaked raisins that gave the bread a very unique flavor. The bread came out light and fluffy and we enjoyed it fresh out of the oven with a little bit of unsalted butter.

This rum raisin bread is the perfect addition for any Sunday brunch or breakfast. It keeps very well and any left over bread can be toasted and enjoyed the following mornings.

Makes 1 loaf.

Ingredients:

*  pinch of salt
*  2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter, cold
*  1 egg
*  1 egg yolk
*  3 tablespoons (35 g) sugar
*  2 cups and 1 1/2 tablespoons (250 g) all purpose King Arthur flour
*  1/2 package active dry yeast (12 g fresh yeast)
*  125 ml milk (at 105 F or 40 C)

*  1 cup (160 g) organic raisins
*  1/2 cup (125 ml) dark rum

* egg yolk
*  sugar

Directions:

Mix yeast and milk and let sit until foamy for 5 minutes.

In a kitchen machine with the dough hook mix together the milk/ yeast, sugar, flour and eggs. Add salt and cold butter and knead until a smooth dough ball forms (about 5 minutes, may you have to add a little bit more flour). Transfer dough in a bigger oiled glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set in the fridge over night.

Mix rum and raisins and let sit over night. Drain rum before adding raisins to the dough.

The next morning remove the dough from the fridge and knead in the raisins on a floured surface. You may have to add a little more flour. Transfer dough into a greased pan, cover and let rise in a draft free place until the dough has doubled in size, for about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).

Baste the top of the risen dough with egg yolk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 45 minutes up to 1 hour, depending on your oven.

Adapted from Chef Johann Lafer.

Cookbook Winner

I also would like to announce the lucky winner of the cookbook giveaway “Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers” by Debby Maugans.

The winner was chosen randomly and it is:

 Lea Ann from “Mangos, Chili and Z”.

Congratulations to my very first local blogger friend Lea Ann! I am very happy to have you win this cookbook. I know it will provide you with many outstanding chocolate desserts to choose from.

I also wanted to thank all my blogger friends that participated in the giveaway. Thanks for sharing your favorite chocolate treats with me!

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{ 12 comments }

teacher-chef June 18, 2011 at 2:43 am

My dad's favorite Ice Cream is Rum Raisin – this is now on my list for Father's Day Brunch. I will be posting in the near future, I hope he loves it as much as I love these photos!!

Chele May 7, 2011 at 5:48 pm

What a great bread recipe. Can;t wait to give this a try and see what flavours can be added to it … though I do think we might be starting with your rum and raisin idea ;0)

Susan May 4, 2011 at 1:21 pm

This bread looks good enough to devour :-D! I love that you soaked the raisins in rum…for my Irish Soda Bread, I soak them in Irish Whiskey. Happy raisins really add to the flavor! XOXO

highplainsdrifters May 3, 2011 at 10:29 pm

Congrats Lea Ann!

Dom at Belleau Kitchen May 3, 2011 at 9:14 am

this looks like a great loaf. We have something called a Lincolnshire Plum loaf which is a local bread, but has no plums (I think they refer to any dried fruit) and it's similar to yours (without the rum!!)… I have done quite a bit of fridge rising recently and found that any of my yeast breads work in the fridge if I want to slow down the process ready for a breakfast loaf… so do a first knead in the evening, then into a bowl in the fridge (covered with cling film) then a second knead in the morning and let it rise for an hour before baking… perfect!

My Kitchen in the Rockies May 3, 2011 at 3:36 am

@ food hound: what are you doing in the meantime???

The Food Hound May 3, 2011 at 1:19 am

Mmmm!! In 9 weeks and 6 days when we resume eating glorious bread, this will be on my list to make!! Looks nice and dense- perfect to toast and drip in butter 🙂

Lea Ann May 2, 2011 at 10:57 pm

First of all, I love that lime green egg holder and the lime green flower. Nice touch. When I was having trouble with baking bread, King Arthur Flour told me that high altitude does better with breads that rise in the fridge, so they don't rise too fast. 3rd of all THANKS so much for the cookbook!!! Yipee! 🙂

Karen Harris May 2, 2011 at 9:36 pm

Since we are both enjoying a new appreciation of yeast breads, I completely with you that dough that rises in the refrigeration is such a convenient and satisfying method. I love the addition of the rum soaked raisins. Your photos are stunning. As your classmate, I am so proud. By the way, I liked your garlic with the dirt on but once I washed mine off there was no going back.

From Beyond My Kitchen Window May 2, 2011 at 9:10 pm

Congrats to the winner of the cookbook. This bread looks so delicious. I agree with CBCS I bet it's fantastic toasted.

Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes May 2, 2011 at 8:28 pm

That bread looks delicious, I'd love to toast some! Congrats to Lee Ann on winning the cookbook!

Cooking Creation May 2, 2011 at 7:33 pm

That bread looks absolutely perfect! Congrats to the winner! 🙂

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