The recipe this week is by my mom. With me being sick, making ANYTHING in the kitchen seemed like a bad idea. Plus, she’s been over helping us out while I’ve been sidelined, so she was using our kitchen anyway!

Growing up I lived in a house full of cooks. Not just OK cooks, but phenomenal cooks. If you ever mentioned something that you craved, a lemon meringue pie, chocolate chip cookies, potato pancakes…boom, within a day it would be made and it was amazing! When I got married and had my twins, my Mom and Gram moved in with us and since they loved to cook, the tradition continued of great meals. It never bothered me since I didn’t seem to inherit THAT cooking gene, plus you can imagine how intimidating it might be to cook for the best. I made occasional simple meals, but nothing too complicated. Then one day I found a recipe in a magazine for braided baked raisin bread and thought, maybe I could impress everyone with my mad skills. It looked fairly easy, not too complicated for a beginner, (meaning it didn’t have like 55 steps to follow, my eyes start to cross when I read some of THOSE recipes). I ripped out the page, went home and actually tried it. Not to brag too much, but I was walking on cloud nine when the bread came out of the oven, it looked so pretty, golden brown with raisins falling out all over. The kids loved it, but more importantly, my Mom and Gram loved it! Since that day, I have made it every year at the holidays for my family and a few lucky friends. Who doesn’t love a yummy piece of raisin bread covered in butter?

Braided Raisin Bread

You need:

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5-5 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 package yeast
2 cups milk
1/2  cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup or more as you like raisins
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

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In a large mixing bowl, combine three cups of flour and the yeast packet.

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In a saucepan, heat together the milk, sugar, butter, and salt, until the butter is almost melted and the temperature is lukewarm.

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Add the wet mixture plus an egg to the dry ingredients.

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If you use a hand mixer, beat at low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl constantly. Then beat on high for 3 minutes. I used Heather’s stand mixer, so I didn’t have to scrape the sides. I want her stand mixer.

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Stir in raisins and about 1/2 cup of flour until the dough is moderately stiff. The recipe calls for 1 cup of raisins, but I don’t think that’s enough. I added about 3 cups of raisins to my bread!

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Put the bread on a floured surface and start kneading in the rest of the flour. The dough is REALLY STICKY when you start, so take off any rings! Knead the bread until it is smooth and elastic, which takes about 8-10 minutes.

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Grease a bowl, then place the dough in the bowl. Flip the bread over so both sides are greased.

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Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until the bread doubles.

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While the bread was rising, I played with my sweet Annabel.

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The dough has doubled in size, yay!

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Divide the dough into three parts…

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…then cut each part into thirds.

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Roll each piece into a 15-inch rope. Then, place the three ropes onto a greased baking sheet and braid them together. Repeat for the remaining pieces.

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Cover the three braids, then let them rise again for another hour. I played with Annabel and Rigby again while the braids rose.

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Combine the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water, then brush some of the mixture over the bread. This helps the bread get its gorgeous golden color.

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Put the braids into the oven and cook at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Then, remove the bread from the oven, brush more of the egg yolk mixture onto the bread, and bake an additional ten minutes. THEN, cover with foil and bake an additional five minutes.

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Doesn’t it look so delicious?

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Annabel and Mike both loved it! This gramma is happy.

Print
Braided Raisin Bread
Author: 
Recipe type: Bread
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 3 loaves
 
Ingredients
  • 5-5½ Cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 package yeast
  • 2 cups milk
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup (or more as you like) raisins
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine three cups of flour and the yeast packet.
  2. In a saucepan, heat together the milk, sugar, butter, and salt, until the butter is almost melted and the temperature is lukewarm.
  3. Add the wet mixture plus an egg to the dry ingredients.
  4. Beat at low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl constantly. Then beat on high for 3 minutes
  5. Stir in raisins and about ½ cup of flour until the dough is moderately stiff.
  6. Put the bread on a floured surface and start kneading in the rest of the flour. Knead the bread until it is smooth and elastic, which takes about 8-10 minutes.
  7. Grease a bowl, then place the dough in the bowl. Flip the bread over so both sides are greased.
  8. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1½ hours, or until the bread doubles.
  9. Divide the dough into three parts, then cut each part into thirds.
  10. Roll each piece into a 15-inch rope. Then, place the three ropes onto a greased baking sheet and braid them together. Repeat for the remaining pieces.
  11. Cover the three braids, then let them rise again for another hour.
  12. Combine the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water, then brush some of the mixture over the bread.
  13. Put the braids into the oven and cook at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Then, remove the bread from the oven, brush more of the egg yolk mixture onto the bread, then bake an additional ten minutes. THEN, cover with foil and bake an additional five minutes.
  14. Makes three braided loaves of raisin bread.