Fruit Bread with Raisins and Dates

Breakfast or Brunch Choice of Raisin Toast Packed Full of Fruit

Jan 18, 2009 Susan Morris

Queensland morning staple, raisin toast, is a fruit-packed brekkie or brunch choice. Confident breadmakers will be able to bake fruit bread for breakfast toasting.

Two halves of a thick slice of fruit bread toasted, raisin toast, will be a big brekkie start to any day. Popular for brunch or breakfast in Queensland Australia, raisin toast is easy eating so here's how to make a fruit bread loaf from scratch.

Fruit Bread with Raisins and Dates Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/3 cup of dried raisins
• 75 to 100g dried dates
• 1 heaped teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 725g strong white flour or wholemeal plain flour
• Active yeast
• Up to 400 ml of lukewarm water

Directions:

1. Soak the raisins in the orange juice for 10 minutes until the dried fruit is plump.
2. Finely chop the dried dates, which will be sticky work.
3. Measure out the ground spices, nutmeg and cinnamon and sprinkle over the dried dates.
4. Prepare the active yeast according to the food producer’s instructions. In this tried and tested recipe, four tablespoons of lukewarm water are added to four teaspoons of dried yeast and the yeast allowed to activate for 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Add the flour of choice, strong white or wholemeal, with the spiced dates and raisins to a large glass bowl.
6. Add the active yeast to the flour and fruit blend. Make a well in the middle of the flour if prepared as a liquid. Mix yeast and flour.
7. Add the lukewarm (not warm, off the boil or boiling else the yeast activity will spoil) water to the flour and yeast in 50 ml amounts and mix in with a metal spoon until a sticky dough is formed.
8. When the bread dough is formed, set the dough in the bowl to one side in a warm place for 10 minutes.
9. Dust a surface with the strong white plain flour or wholemeal flour and empty the bread dough onto the surface. Stretch and aerate the dough by kneading for 10 minutes.
10. Coat the inside of the glass mixing bowl with olive oil and return the bread dough to the bowl.
11. Cover the bowl with a plate or cling film to avoid the dough escaped over the sides as it rises up.
12. Place the bread dough in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size and appears to have a frothy bubbly top.
13. Re-dust the surface with the strong white plain flour or wholemeal flour ready for kneading the dough.
14. Remove the cover over the mixing bowl and punch the top of the dough once.
15. Turn out the dough onto the floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Shape into a round and rest for several minutes.
16. Preheat the oven to a baking temperature of 220 degrees Celsius or equivalent.
17. Line a baking tray with baking parchment paper or lightly dust the tray with flour before transferring the uncooked fruit bread.
18. Bake the bread in the hot oven for 30 to 40 minutes. The bread will be cooked when the base of the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
19. Turn out the bread onto a wire rack, wrap in a clean tea towel and allow to cool down.

Baked as a spicy fruity white or wholemeal round loaf, fruit bread with raisins and dates can be sliced straight away when cooled down, toasted and scraped with butter. The loaf is best consumed within two days of baking.

The copyright of the article Fruit Bread with Raisins and Dates in Seasonal Cooking is owned by Susan Morris. Permission to republish Fruit Bread with Raisins and Dates in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Chopped Dates and Spices for Fruit Bread Loaf Mix	Allow the Covered Dough to Rise for One Hour	Uncooked Fruit Bread Round
Fruit Bread with Raisins and Dates Cooling Down	Raisin Toast