LEE'S RICH LOAF
"This white bread can be made with a grand swirl of nuts, sugar, raisins, and cinnamon through its heart or made simply as a no-frills loaf.
Naomi Lee does it both ways with a recipe that has been fine-tuned in her southern Indiana kitchen for a number of years. It began as a different recipe but she began to tailor it in response to family comments and judgments, such as using butter instead of margarine, two eggs rather than one, a bit less salt and a bit more sugar And so it went for two decades, but now she believes it is exactly as she wants it - rich in taste, well textured, and delicious.
Naomi Lee makes a 2-loaf batch of dough. Half of the dough is rolled around a nut-raisin-cinnamon mixture while the other half is left as is."
FOR THE DOUGH:
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups hot water (120-130 degrees F)
1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
5 cups bread or unbleached flour, approximately
1 package dry yeast
2 eggs, room temperature
FILLING (FOR ONE LOAF):
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup presoaked raisins*
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 tablespoon butter, softened or melted
ICING (OPTIONAL):
Confectioners' sugar
A few drops of vanilla
Milk (a needed)
BAKING PANS:
2 medium (8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch) loaf pans, greased or non-stick
TO MIX BY HAND OR MIXER: 15 minutes
In a small saucepan measure the salt, sugar, butter, and hot water. Add the dry milk and stir together. Heat over low flame until the butter is melted, but don't bring to a boil.
Measure 2 cups flour into a mixing or mixer bowl and pour in the liquid. Blend into a light batter. Add the yeast (the flour will have cooled the water, hence won't hurt the yeast). Stir the eggs into the mixture, and beat by hand with 50 strong strokes or under a mixer flat beater for 2 minutes, until the batter is thoroughly mixed.
Add the balance of the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, blending first with the wooden spoon and then by hand or with the dough hook. When the dough has formed a rough, shaggy mass, place on the floured work surface or leave in the mixer to be kneaded. If the dough is sticky, add sprinkles of flour. Don't overload the dough with flour or it will become a hard cannonball! It must be soft and elastic.
KNEADING: 10 minutes: Knead the dough with a strong push-turn-fold motion, occasionally lifting the dough off the work surface and sending it crashing back. Or place under the dough hook of an electric mixer. If the dough remains slack and moisture pushes its way through the surface, add small quantities of flour. When sufficient flour has been added, the dough under the hook will clean the sides of the bowl and not stick. The dough kneaded by hand will be soft and elastic. Knead for 10 minutes.
TO MIX BY PROCESSOR: 4 minutes
Heat the water-butter mixture, as above.
Insert the short plastic blade in the processor. Measure 2 cups flour and yeast into the work bowl. Pulse to blend. Pour in the liquid and pulse several times to make a thin batter. Add the eggs. Pulse.
Remove the cover to add 1 cup flour; cover and pulse. With the machine running, add the balance of the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, through the feed tube. When the dough has formed a ball and is riding on the blade and cleaning the sides of the bowl, knead with the machine running for 50 seconds.
FIRST RISING: 1 hour
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature to double in volume, about 1 hour.
SHAPING: 15 minutes
Turn back the plastic wrap and punch down the dough. Lift to the work surface and divide the dough into 2 pieces.
FOR A PLAIN LOAF:
Form the dough into a ball. Let it rest for 3 or 4 minutes and then press into an oval roughly the length of the bread pan. Fold lengthwise, pinch the seam tightly to close, and drop in the prepared pan, seam under.
FOR A SWIRL LOAF:
Form the dough into a ball and let rest for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the nuts, raisins, cinnamon, sugar, and orange zest.
With the fingers and rolling pin, push, stretch, and roll the dough into a rectangle slightly larger than the width of the pan and about 14-inches long. The dough will be about 1/2-inch thick.
Spread the butter over the dough with a brush or your fingers - taking care not to butter the narrow top edge where the seam will be made. Spread the nut mixture over the butter. Carefully roll to the top, and pinch the edge into the body. Tuck under the ends, and place the loaf in the prepared pan.
SECOND RISING: 50-60 minutes
Cover the 2 pans with wax paper and put aside until doubled in volume, to the edge of the baking pan, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.
PREHEAT
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F 20 minutes before baking.
BAKING:
Bake on the lower shelf of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the loaves test done when the bottom crust is tapped with the forefinger. (If using a convection oven, bake at 350 degrees F.)
FINAL STEP
Remove from the oven and place on a metal rack to cool before serving. Ice the cooled loaves, if desired.
ICING:
For a delicious and colorful alternative, frost the loaves with confectioners' sugar mixed with a few drops of vanilla, and just enough milk to make a smooth mixture.
*Beforehand soak the raisins in water or, if you wish, rum, brandy, or wine for about 1 hour. Drain and press dry on paper towels.
Makes two loaves
Source: Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads by Bernard Clayton
