BarBBQ Bill requested cinnamon raisin bread.

Well, OK…but I don’t buy raisins because he says he doesn’t like them.  Now he wants them in his bread.  Go figure.

But I do have these.  Dried Balaton cherries from Cherry Republic (they claim they are the world headquarters for all things cherry, and I’m not going to argue).

Now I need a bread recipe – as always, my go-to site for bread recipes is King Arthur Flour.  I found a cinnamon raisin bread that sounded interesting, so I’m going to start with that.  I’m also going to cut their recipe in half to make just one loaf – I’ve learned to “try it and see if he likes it”.

In a saucepan or microwaveable bowl, heat 3/4 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of butter until just hot (about 120° F).  Add a generous 1/2 cup of dried cherries (I chopped them), 1/2 cup of rolled oats (hey, this might be almost health food!), 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon.  Stir it all together and let it cool.

In another bowl, mix 1/4 cup of warm water and 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar.  Add 1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast, and let it stand until you start to see bubbles forming (about 5 minutes).

When the milk/oat/cherry mixture has cooled down to about 80° F (lukewarm), combine it into the yeast mixture.  Start adding flour one cup at a time.  Here’s one cup of all-purpose flour mixed in.

Cup number two of flour is in there.  I used a cup of KAF’s white whole wheat flour (now it’s really healthy food

I measured out the last cup of all-purpose flour and added about a third of it.  Since the original recipe gave a “range” of flour amounts, that’s usually what I do.  I’ll take the rest of the cup and use as much as I need to add while I’m kneading the bread.

About eight minutes later and with an extra 1/3 cup of flour kneaded in, the dough is smooth and elastic.

Put the dough into a greased bowl (I used butter), flip it over so both sides are greased, cover with plastic, and let rise for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours until the dough is doubled.  These large measuring bowls are handy for that.  Just note the original amount and wait for it to double.  My kitchen was pretty cool today, so I let it rise a little bit more than two hours.

When it has doubled, punch the dough down and knead it a little bit on a lightly floured board.  Shape into a loaf and try to push any cherry bits back into the dough.  I hate burned fruit in the crust of my bread.  Place in a greased 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch loaf pan, cover it with plastic and let rise until doubled (another hour or so).

Again, my kitchen was cool, so I let it rise until the dome was above the rim of the pan.  It was more like 2 hours instead of a hour (and it should have gone longer – I think the whole loaf should have been above the pan rim.  How come hindsight is always 20/20?)

Pop the pan into a preheated 375° F oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.  I lowered the temperature by 25° because of the glass loaf pan.

I brushed mine with some melted butter and sprinkled on some demerara sugar.  It was too healthy – I had to add more sugar and butter.  We’re about halfway through baking here.  The top’s getting a bit brown, so I’m going to tent it with a bit of aluminum foil.

Mine took about 38 minutes to bake.  Tastes great toasted.  BarBBQ Bill was pleased!

Things to remember next time:

• Let the dough rise longer.  It’s a slow rise loaf so plan for the extra time.
• Could have used a bit more of the cherries.
• Don’t do the butter and sugar (and add some cinnamon to the top) until it’s partially baked.  I think that’s why it browned a bit too much.
• Keep experimenting.

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