Easiest Ever Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Walnut Bread

Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Walnut Bread

This Delicious Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Walnut Bread is Whole Wheat, No Knead, Refrigerator Rise, Vegan, and Oil Free. And, best of all, Tasty!

Just measure, stir, wait, form, pop in fridge, wait and bake! It takes about 10 minutes hands-on time - if you're a slow worker : )

And, an added bonus, this same dough can be used to make a variety of other Whole Wheat Breads on this site, like Sandwich Loaf, Cinnamon Rolls or Dinner Rolls. 

This is my own recipe, but I got the method from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day - whose work I highly recommend!

Easy Soft, No Knead Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Basic Dough
 (Makes 2 batches - for a one batch recipe, see my Whole Wheat Rolls post)

I prepare a double batch of dough in a plastic shoe box from the dollar store
.
Be sure to add ingredients in this order:

3 Cups Warm Water
5 Cups White Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup Tapioca Starch (you can substitute Cornstarch, if you like)
1 Cup Potato Flakes (yes, the kind people make instant Mashed Potatoes with)
1/2 Cup Sugar*
1 Tablespoon Yeast
1 Tablespoon Salt

Stir well with a spoon till well combined and no floury patches remain. If it is VERY hard to stir, and doesn't look like the picture below, you can add a couple more Tablespoons of Warm Water.

Dough Right after Stirring

Cover loosely (I put the shoe box lid on, but don't snap it down on one corner) and allow to rise for 2-5 hours on counter.

Dough after initial rise - ready to place in fridge or use.

Place in Fridge till needed, or use right away (ideally, use this within a week)

When you're ready to use it, oil a loaf pan. (You may line the loaf pan with parchment paper if you absolutely cannot have any oil.  "Cut" it in half with your hand, then gently form into a ball. This will be approximately a 2# ball of dough.

"Cut" Dough with your hand

Gently Shape into a ball and place in oiled loaf pan.

Pat the Dough into a large rectangle. I pat mine out on my Plastic Cutting Mat (from the dollar store) that's 12"x15"

I Flour, Pat, Turn, Flour, Pat, Turn, till the rectangle is the right size.

Then, I spread with 1/2 Cup Applesauce (I use one of those little Lunch containers). Leave a border of  about 1/2" around the edges.

Sprinkle VERY GENEROUSLY with Cinnamon Sugar mixture.

Then, Sprinkle with Raisins and Walnuts (Both are optional - the loaf will turn out just great if you like plain Cinnamon Swirl Bread instead)

Turn Lenthwise, and roll up

 Fold in the ends so it will fit your loaf pan

Fold in the Ends

 Turn over (so tucked ends are underneath) and pop into oiled loaf pan.

 Now, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge to rise overnight
OR
Allow to rise on the counter for 2 hours

Now it is risen, and ready to bake. I put some slashes in the top - but that's optional.

At baking time, preheat the oven to 350, and bake loaf on lower shelf of oven  (place shelf so that the MIDDLE of the loaf is in the MIDDLE of your oven - a middle shelf tends to place the top of a loaf too high, and it darkens too quickly) for 50 minutes.

Allow to cool briefly on the counter, then carefully remove from pan and cool thoroughly on a wire rack. This bread will slice best if it is cool, but if you can't wait to enjoy it warm . . . .; ) I didn't wait to slice mine. You can see the slices are a little imperfect.

Yummy Toast! (Yup - I burnt the edge -but you don't HAVE to do that ; )

Fresh from the Oven

When I make this, I thoroughly cool it, then immediately slice it and wrap it and put it in the freezer (any that we didn't eat right away). Then, when you're ready to use it, just warm it up in the microwave, and toast lightly in the toaster oven to give that fresh-from-the-oven taste : )

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