As I was making MASSIVE quantities of raisin bread for my son's high school
tennis team (they need to snack on the bus, you know!) I found myself
worried about whether those sticky raisins would release even from my
non-stick roasting pan (40 knotted raisin bread buns!). I don't use
cooking spray on my nonstick pans as I have tired of scrubbing of the
remaning scum. It occurred to me -- spray the BREAD, not the pan! I gave
each bun a little squirt of cooking spray and everything slid right out
nice as you please. (Your hand, of course, becomes a slimy mess for a few
minutes and you need to take care where the spray is aimed lest the overrun
create a skating rink from your kitchen floor.)
And, here's the recipe; from its title I must have copied it from a raisin
box years ago:
SunMaid Back-to-Nature Raisin Bread
1 cup golden raisins (could certainly use dried fruit of choice, diced)
1.25 cups water
.33 cup oleo or butter
.5 cup warm water
2 packages instant dried yeast (4.5 tsp)
.33 cup brown sugar (light or dark, your choice)
2 tsp salt
.5 tsp ginger
.5 tsp cinnamon
2 cups bread flour (divided)
2 cups whole wheat flour
.33 cup wheat germ
Combine raisins, water & shortening, bring to boil; cool to lukewarm
Combine warm water & yeast to proof; add brown sugar, salt, ginger,
cinnamon & 1 cup flour. Mix well; add cooled raisin mixture. Mix in
remaining flours & wheat germ. Knead, let rise. Shape into loaf, let
rise. Bake about 40 minutes at 375 F.
(nb, I normally stir in about half the total flour, beat 120 strokes and
let the sponge rise. Then add enough of remaining flour to make kneadable
dough, knead-let rise-shape-let rise-bake).