Cinnamon swirl raisin bread
In her dvd, Julia Child makes a pain de mie and a raisin bread from the same recipe. I’ve made the pain de mie several times now and I felt I was ready to try the raisin bread.
As I was preparing to mix the dough, I decided to kick it up a notch and turn the finished product into a cinnamon swirl raisin bread. Don’t you just love the swirl pattern?
Speaking of which, ever wonder how to get that cool swirl in the bread? Just fold the dough into a jellyroll. Right before you put the dough in the baking pan, use your rolling pin to flatten it. Then roll it up and pinch the seams closed.
Sometimes you might have trouble with your cinnamon swirl bread. Often it will develop unsightly gaps where the swirl is supposed to be.
To counter this, try brushing water, milk or melted butter on your dough before adding the cinnamon. I’ve read that it helps seal the dough, thereby eliminating the gaps.
I found that my cinnamon swirl raisin bread is great whether fresh from the oven or served as toast the next morning. It’s quite versatile, too. I’ve heard of people using it in bread puddings and French toast. One might even turn it into croutons and add some to one’s soup or salad.
