Ever since I was a little boy, I always loved raisins. Whether they were right from a box, inside pastry, added in main courses or in my favorite… bread - I always loved them. Raisin bread is on e of my favorite things to eat. Freshly sliced with a butter on top….. I could eat it all the time. Now I tend not to get raisin bread that much at the bakery/grocery store but from time to time I like to indulge.

But this time around I thought I would try and make a loaf from scratch - it is an old family recipe and sometimes we use to add walnuts. I am not crazy about walnuts on their own but inside this bread they are actually quite tasty. They give the bread a nice texture as well. So below is the recipe for zesty’s raisin walnut bread - I hope you enjoy it!!

Ingredients

• 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 2 cups lukewarm water (105° to 115°)
• 2 Tbs. honey
• 2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup walnut halves, coarsely chopped

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together honey and 1/2 cup of the lukewarm water. Add yeast and stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water.
2. Add whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups of white flour and salt. Stir until well combined. Add enough of remaining white flour until dough leaves sides of bowl.
3. Sprinkle flour on a flat dry surface. Turn dough onto the surface and knead 5 to 10 minutes, adding more flour if necessary, until dough is smooth and elastic. Don’t make the dough too dry.
4. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat. Cover with damp cloth and set aside in warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Place a piece of parchment paper on a large baking sheet.
5. Punch dough down and turn on to floured surface. Knead raisins and walnuts into dough. Shape (round, long, square,) into 1 large loaf and place on prepared baking sheet. Cover with damp cloth and let rise until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 425°F. Using a spray bottle spray loaf with water. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and bake 30 minutes or until nicely browned. Cool on rack before slicing.