Orange and Raisin Challah Loaf

Ok, I promise, just one more bread machine bread post for now! I’ve saved the best for last, as this is one of my very favourite recent experiments. It’s based on the delicious Challah bread recipe I posted last Friday.

When I first made Challah bread using my bread machine, I only used it for the dough setting because I wanted to attempt the traditional braided shape. However I was so pleased with the texture and flavour of the bread, I wondered what it would be like made entirely in the machine for everyday.

Challah is a traditional Jewish bread, and raisins are often added at times of celebration. Now I love raisin bread, so I thought I would incorporate them into it. In fact, I used some beautiful California crimson raisins, and while I need to apologise for the food miles, they really did make it extra special. And then I got to thinking about orange peel and how good orange can taste with raisins and, well, the rest is history. I love it when a plan comes together.

Makes 1 bread machine loaf.

2 eggs, at room temperature

water

2 generous tablespoons of olive or other mild vegetable oil

3 cups strong white bread flour

grated rind of one orange

½ cup raisins or sultanas

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon caster sugar

2 teaspoons fast acting dried yeast

Mix the raisins and the orange peel together in a small bowl.

Break the eggs into a measuring jug and beat lightly. Make up to 1¼ cups with water. Beat together lightly. Pour into the bread maker bucket.

Add the oil and half the flour. Sprinkle with the sugar and salt and top with the remaining flour. Mound the yeast in the centre.

Fit the bucket into the bread maker and set to the raisin bake setting. If you have an automatic raisin dispenser, you can put the raisins and orange peel into it now. If you don’t, you will need to listen for the ‘raisin beep’ and add them then.

When the loaf is cooked, remove the bucket from the bread maker and carefully shake it out of the bucket onto a cooling rack. Wait at least a half an hour before slicing.

This bread is gorgeous spread with butter and jam, and it tastes lovely toasted too.

Apple Cinnamon Raisin Bread

As you may already know, I love my breadmaker. I do make bread from scratch, but like most people, I just don’t have time to do it most of the time, and this fantastic little gadget means that I rarely have to buy store bought bread. That has to be a good thing because homemade bread not only tastes better, but it is better for you. I know exactly what goes into my bread, and it isn’t a lot of additives, salt or flavour improvers. It also makes the house smell fabulous when it is baking, especially when you bake a spiced bread like this. 

I’ve been making this recipe for some time using ordinary bread flour but when I was at Masterchef Live last autumn, I found a new flour supplier who makes an Apple Cinnamon flour. Wessex Mill offer a huge range of speciality flours and each bag of flour is completely traceable. The farms the grain has come from are listed on the back. I love this, and I had such good results from the Apple Cinnamon variety, I can’t wait to try some of the others (which include spelt, pumpernickel and rye).

But back to the recipe. Be sure to use “strong” or “bread” flour when you make bread as it makes a huge difference to how your loaves will turn out.

1¼ cups apple juice at room temperature

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (walnut oil for preference)

3 cups strong white bread flour (or Wessex Mill’s Apple Cinnamon Bread Flour)

2 teaspoons cinnamon (omit if using Wessex Mill’s flour)

2 tablespoons milk powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons white sugar

2 teaspoons instant or fast acting dried yeast

½ to ¾ cup nice juicy raisins

Pour the apple juice into the breadmaker bucket. Add the oil and half the flour. Sprinkle with the milk powder, cinnamon, salt and sugar. Cover with the remaining flour and mound the yeast in the centre.

Fit the bucket into the breadmaker. Put the raisins in the raisin and nut dispenser if you have one - if not you will have to listen out for the ‘raisin beep’ part way through the cycle and put them in then.

Set the breadmaker to the programme recommended in your manual - usually the ‘Raisin bread’ setting. (I have to select the “Basic” setting on mine and then choose the option for “Raisins”.) Turn the bread maker on. And if you don’t have a raisin dispenser remember to listen out for the beep!

When the bread is done, remove the bucket from the bread maker using oven mitts and carefully shake the bread out on to a cooling rack. Wait until it has cooled off a bit before attempting to remove the paddle if it has become stuck - and also before slicing. You can slice this when it is still warm, but if you don’t let it cool off for at least 30 to 40 minutes it will be very difficult and possibly ruin your bread. Be careful, because the apple cinnamon smell is very seductive, so if you do give in before then don’t way I didn’t warn you!

This loaf is really delicious spread with some real butter. It’s also nice with a touch of honey. You can serve it plain or toasted.

Homemade Bread The Easy Way

I wish I could be the kind of person who makes bread from scratch every couple of days, but like most modern women, my family’s lifestyle makes that pretty much impossible. So once in a while I bake scratch bread the old fashioned way, and the rest of the time, I use a bread machine. It's better than store bought, that is for sure!


The beauty of a bread machine is that it makes it possible for you to have fresh bread literally every day. It also means you know exactly what is going into your bread - right down to the kind of flour and how much salt. (Although don’t be tempted to leave the salt out entirely as the yeast needs it to work!) It also means you are not popping to the shops ‘just for a loaf of bread’ every two minutes. Although that might not seem like an onerous task, particularly if the shop is nearby, I always find that I buy a lot more than a loaf of bread when I am there and end up spending a lot more than I intended. If I can avoid the trip to the shop, I save more pennies!


I’ve had two bread machines in the last ten years, so they are fairly long lasting - and in fact the one I replaced recently was still working, it’s just the technology has moved along so much I wanted a newer model. Admittedly, when I first used that original machine, it took me a while to get used to it. And to be honest, I’ve never had much luck with the timers on either one of them. I’m much better setting the machine so that I know I will be there when it finishes and can take the bread out straight away. One of the things that helped me to really love my bread machine is a book by Sonia Allison called The Complete Bread Machine Cookbook. It was published nine years ago, so can be hard to get hold of, but it’s well worth buying if you can find a copy. I’ve tried loads of Sonia’s recipes over the years, and I’m planning to blog about them over the next few weeks, but I thought I would start with my family’s favourite - a light and easy Polenta Bread with Olive Oil that is great for everyday. (Polenta is another name for cornmeal.)


It’s Sonia’s technique for putting the ingredients in the bread machine that really works for me, and gives fabulous results. She recommends putting the liquid and any oil in the bread container first, then adding half the flour ingredients, then the salt, sugar and milk powder (if using), adding the rest of the flour and then mounding the yeast on top. This prevents the yeast from getting wet too soon and gives much better results. I highly recommend this method.


Polenta Bread with Olive Oil


2¾ cups strong white bread flour (organic if possible)
¼ cup cornmeal
1¼ cups water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I’ve also used ordinary olive oil)
2 teaspoons salt (I use 1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 tablespoons dried milk powder
1½ teaspoons instant or fast-acting dried yeast (I’ve used up to 2 teaspoons at times)


Mix together the flour and polenta. Pour the water into the breadmaker bucket, then add the oil, and half the flour and polenta mixture. Sprinkle with the salt, sugar and dried milk. Cover with the remaining flour mixture and mound the yeast into the centre.


Fit the bucket into the breadmaker and set to the programme recommended in the manual (usually basic white or No 1).


When the programme has finished, gently shake the loaf out of the bucket on to a wire cooling rack and stand right way up. Leave for at least an hour before cutting and/or removing paddle if necessary. (Sometimes I haven’t waited quite this long, but it is better if you do!)

The 21st Century Housewife's© Maple Syrup, Pecan and Apple Loaf

I invented this recipe, based on one of my own banana muffin recipes, to help use up some lovely cooking apples I bought at a farm shop near my home. I get so tempted by the delicious produce when I go there that I sometimes overbuy, and I am always looking for new and delicious ways of using up the bounty I bring home. Although for me this seems the perfect recipe for Autumn, it could easily be made all year round as the variety of cooking apple you use really does not matter. It smells delicious when it is baking, perfuming the kitchen with a warm nutmeggy air.

Baked in a loaf pan, it is a cross between a bread and a cake. The use of a small amount of maple syrup means that although it is slightly sweet, its mellow flavour allows it to also be served as a savoury bread – particularly if you omit the dusting of demerera sugar and cinnamon I sometimes put on top. The slightly acidic nature of the buttermilk also adds to its savoury edge. It is delicious for breakfast, spread thickly with butter or as a tea bread. I also like to serve it with a cheese board as it is absolutely scrumptious with just about any cheese – particularly cheddar and also, somewhat surprisingly, Brie! I would definitely omit the sugary topping if you plan to serve it with cheese though.

It is best baked the day before and allowed to rest before serving. Simply wrap it tightly in foil once it is cooled to keep it moist. It does taste lovely warm from the oven, but attempts to slice it while it is still warm usually result in a crumbly mess, so I do try to restrain myself and save it till the next day!

50 grams butter, melted and allowed to cool slightly
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 egg, lightly beaten
250 ml buttermilk
175 grams plain (all purpose) flour
175 grams whole wheat flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
½ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
2 large cooking apples, peeled, cored and grated
(wait until the last minute to do this so that the apples do not brown)
75 grams of pecans, roughly chopped

Topping:-
1 tablespoon demerera sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon mixed together (optional)

Prepare a loaf tin by buttering and flouring it, or line with greaseproof paper or a liner. Preheat the oven to 175℃ or 350℉.

Whisk the butter, maple syrup, egg and buttermilk together in a large jug. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the flours, salt, bicarbonate of soda and nutmeg. Peel, core and grate the apples into the flour mixture and blend together. Add the nuts and stir in. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and fold together gently until well mixed.

Put the mixture in the prepared loaf pan, and if using, sprinkle the Demerera sugar and cinnamon mixture over the top.

Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes until the top is slightly golden and a piece of dried spaghetti stuck into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. Take the loaf out of the oven and allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before removing it and cooling completely on a wire rack. The loaf will keep, well wrapped in foil in a cool place, for two to three days.