Raisin Bread

In a large bowl mix together the first eight ingredients (through the brown sugar) until incorporated. Add the oil, egg yolk, and water and mix together. Knead by hand or with a dough hook in a stand mixer for 7-10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Finally, gently knead in the raisins, just until they are evenly distributed. Mixing too much with the raisins in the dough can start to break the gluten strands, so go easy.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.

Dump dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Gently knead a few times to degas the dough. Press dough out into a flat rectangle 9 or 12 inches wide, depending on the size of the loaf pan you are using. Roll the dough up into a loaf and pinch the bottom seam together. Then pinch the ends together and down so that from the top, the loaf has a nice shape. Place the dough seam side down in a greased 4.5″x12″ or 5″x9″ loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until slightly more than double, about another hour.

When the loaf is about half risen, start preheating the oven at 375°F. When the loaf is properly risen, carefully remove the plastic wrap and bake in the center rack of the oven for approximately 30 minutes. When done, the loaf should have a nice golden crust, sound hollow when thumped, and have an internal temperature around 200°F. Remove bread from the pan promptly to cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days or over a week in the refrigerator.

NOTE: Soy flour helps you end up with a loaf that is more moist and tender and it also helps the loaf to have better shelf life. If you can’t find soy flour or would rather not use it, you can simply substitute bread flour instead.