Hazelnut Raisin Bread

I made an interesting bread over the weekend and thought I would share the recipe. I weigh the flours and liquids so some conversion will be necessary if you use volume measurements: 1 Cup of bread flour is about 130 gm and 10 oz of water is about 300 gm.

Ingredients

• 500 gm bread flour
• 300 gm water room temp
• toasted and chopped hazelnuts. The amount depends on how nutty you want it.
• raisins. Again quantity is your choice. I soaked them in Ouzo but water would work ok also
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbs honey
• 2 tsp yeast. about 1 pkg
• unsalted butter to brush on top

Procedure

• Mix the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer
• Pour the water gently in the center of the bowl
• Add the honey and yeast to the pool of water and stir the pool gently
• Let the yeast proof for 5 - 10 minutes
• Process the mixture in the mixer with a dough hook for 10 mins. Near the end of the time add in the raisins and hazelnuts.
• Form the dough into a ball and let it rise until doubled in bulk
• Pound the dough with your knuckles into a flat sheet and let it rest for 10 minutes
• Form the dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured pizza stone
• Let the dough rise again until nearly doubled in bulk
• Brush the top with melted butter
• Bake for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 475 F.
• Reduce temp to 375 and continue baking until bread reaches an internal temp of 195F

As with most breads you may need to adjust the flour and/or water until the dough forms a nice consistency. It should cling to the dough hook and clean the side of the mixing bowl and be slightly sticky to the touch after kneading

I rarely keep track of time when baking because I find the internal temp to be a much better indicator. I think this was in the oven for about 1/2 hour.