Raisin bread/Basic fruit loaf

SourDom

I have been trying for a long time to make a sourdough fruit bread that wasn't incredibly heavy and dense in texture. This recipe is probably still in evolution, but worked well today.

The Dough

Ingredient Metric Imperial Baker's Percentage
white flour 500 grams 17.65 oz 100.00%
starter (40%) [my starter is 100% hydration, and recently is 1/3 rye] 200 grams 7.06 oz 40.00%
tepid (soy) milk [I am sure that you could use cow juice, but I don't drink or cook with the stuff] 162 grams 5.72 oz 32.40%
golden syrup 20 grams 0.71 oz 4.00%
tepid water 162 grams 5.72 oz 32.40%
salt 10 grams 0.35 oz 2.00%
cinnamon 7 grams 0.25 oz 1.40%
Total Flour Weight:
500 grams

Percentages are relative to flour weight (flour equals 100%) and every other ingredient is a percentage of this. Flour from the starter is not counted. This recipe was originally in grams and has been automatically converted to other measures.

Method: 

Stir liquid ingredients together, add
500g white flour (100%)
10g salt (2%)
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

mix until roughly comes together, leave for 10 minutes
knead for 10 seconds on an oiled surface, leave for 10 minutes
knead 10 seconds, leave for 10 minutes
knead 10 seconds

bulk fermentation
cover and leave for 1 hour [my dough sat in the oven which had briefly been turned on, then switched off (aiming for temp ~30C)]
stretch and fold
leave for 1 hour
stretch and fold, leave for 1 hour

add fruit
250g dried fruit (I used currants sultanas and a few apricots)
toss briefly in a small amount of flour

press gently on dough with tips of fingers until flattened (aim is not to squeeze air out of it). stretch out the sides until it is in a large rectangular shape (say 40cm by 50cm)
scatter floured fruit over the surface of the dough.
Starting with far end roll tightly the dough towards you
When you have a cylinder of dough, fold one end in over the the other (1/3 of the way along). Fold the other end over the top.
Leave for 1/2 to 1 hour

shape
gently stretch and mould dough into desired shape, trying not to let all the fruit break through to the surface and fall out all over the bench [I had to be more gentle with shaping than I would usually be]

prove
place dough seam side up in banneton, or lined basket
leave for 3-4 hours

bake
pre-heat oven [I baked this loaf at a slightly cooler temperature than I would usually, but this seemed to work better for the fruit loaf]
invert dough onto peel (or piece of cardboard with semolina scattered on the top)
slash
slide the loaf onto over stone, or baking tray
190C for ~45 minutes. Steam for the start if you feel like it.

Dom

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Replies

Ben's picture
Ben 2008 October 4
Hey, I just baked using this recipe, it's great. I just changed the spice quantity a little, I added 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of cloves and 1 teaspoon on cinnamon.

Thanks!
kiwidave 2009 February 21
Hi Dom, I have just taken this out of the oven and it tastes like a good fruit bread should. Spicy and fruity - with the additional sourdough tang thrown in for good measure.
I'd recommend this recipe to everyone.
Dave
Karen 2009 March 2
Made this lovely large loaf yesterday and am now happily munching on it for breakfast!  it is beautiful!  I think my starter may have been a bit "wet" as ended up with a very sticky wet dough and had to add more flour, but nevertheless it is a cracker!  Thanks Dom.
robatt 2010 February 4

I'd like to make this bread overnight and finish it off first thing in the morning. The way I'm familiar with is to put the dough in the fridge overnight to retard it and then bring it up to room temperature in the morning (30 minutes or so) before final shaping and then the the final rise (40 minutes or so) before baking. But I think that is usually done with breads that use a lot less starter in ratio to the amount of flour. Also I'm wondering what amount of time to allow for resting, etc. in the morning. Anyone have any ideas?

ramat123 2010 February 5

Some time has passed since this post was written but I want to bake it very soon (today) so:

What do you mean: "200 g starter (40%) [my starter is 100% hydration, and recently is 1/3 rye]"

Is it 100 hydration or 40%?

And, what is a good replacement for golden syrop.

 Thanks  a lot,

David

mono 2010 March 2

 100% hydration means starter has equal parts flour and water(100% each).

1/3 rye is amount of rye flour to white, so recipe for starter would be 100ml water-               100%

                                                                                                               66g white flour-2/3      66%

                                                                                                               33g rye flour-    1/3      33%  = 100%

40% in the recipe refers to the percentage of ready to use starter to the amount of flour weight. this is more of a trade thing to work out the recipe, but because you already have the recipe is not really anything to worry about.

happy baking 

Tania 2010 August 18

I made this loaf last night, and then somehow managed to leave it overnight to cool and have for breakfast, the house smelt so good with that bread baking smell, and wow is it a great tasting loaf!! Thanks Sourdom for the recipe it was easy to follow especially for a newbie like me, I did however forget to slash my loaf - maybe 11pm is a bit late to be baking I guess!!  But it still turned out great and will definitely be baking it again.

Sorry the photos aren't the best, but you can at least see the loaf I guess!  I baked it in a tin so as I could slice and fit in the toaster easy, but how would I slash my loaf to bake in the loaf tin? Do I need to slash?  Sorry I still have so much to learn :)

 

 

toni55 2010 September 29

Hi Dom,

I would like to try your recipe this weekend but I'm not familiar with your term "golden syrup". Would you mind filling me in?

Thanks!

Toni

toni55 2010 October 8

Hi Dom,

I made your recipe last weekend and it tasted great. Mine didn't rise as much or achieve the oven spring that yours shows but I'm new to this. I've been watching videos this week to see if I can pick up what I didn't do & it's possible I didn't S&F enough or make a tight enough membrane. I am definitely going to make this again! I went on a hunt to find the  Lyles Golden Syrup & found some at World Market after I had already substituted with agave nectar.

I'll let you know how the second try works out!

Toni

sourdoughrecluse 2010 November 6

 

I  have been making this bread for years and years, with normal yeast....Started making sourdough bread 12 months ago, so have been perfecting it using basic sourdough techniques......Secret to making good fruit bread is to poach (Yes,poach) your fruit in a little water first....I also make cumquat marmalade, so i put a good dollop in with the fruit.....dried figs,apricots,cut up prunes and mixed dried fruit...add some spice..cinnamon quills,star anise.....

Poach for about 5 minutes...This fruit medley keeps in the fridge for weeks....If anyone wants to know more just ask

I made up a 12 cup Flour mix today and it made 5 great loaves....it also freezes well....and toasted is just divine

The fruit medley is stunning served warm over vanilla ice cream..I also make 6 loaves of sour dough today...I did the first mix last night....Left it on the bench in a large covered tub overnight,,,,two proves this morning an had baked

loaves out of the oven just after lunch...very pleased with the timing.....if i start in the morning i dont get it out of the oven until about 9pm

 

Jane Williams's picture
Jane Williams 2011 May 12

Dom,

 

I'm a little late on the SD bandwagon here, but hopefully you'll still keep an eye on this forum.  I love the fruit breads and was wondering what you mean when you say "S&F, leave for one hour".  I understand the "leave for one hour (LOL) but am curious about the stretch and fold.  Is it one double S&F?  or a single letter type without the last fold over?  Newbie question, but I really want to know.  I have made this as a no-knead many times but am anxious to try the SD version.

 

Thanks in advance,

Janey

jeddog 2011 August 7

I gave this a go yesterday, as it came out of the oven about 9pm last night.  The family and I  had it this morning for breakfast (my second sourdough loaf).  Seems a little heavy and i would like a softer crust but all in all very nice.  I Baked it also in a tin and added poppy seeds to the top...Thing can only get better with my sourdough baking.  Lets Hope..

 

Image previewImage preview

 

Jeddog

mimig64 2012 January 25

 Hi Dom,

 

I've made this loaf for the second time, 1st time I used Dan's Cassis Loaf recipe and got no rise, so I tried your version and although the flavor and texture is amazing, I can't seem to get a huge rise out of it.  It rises without issues in the banneton but in the oven it spreads.  I might try a lower hydration & see how I go, but otherwise it's delicious!  Taking this loaf to South Australia to a friends house, I am sure the human vacuum cleaners will polish it off in a day. :)

 

peregrine 2012 March 1

This worked perfectly. Instead of doing the 3-4 hour bulk prove, I proved it for 1hr, then put it in the fridge (midnight) and took it out at 6pm the following day, let it come to room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours and then baked it - fantastic anyway! I used cow's milk and honey instead of golden syrup - I prefer those flavours.

Thanks for the great recipe.

Mal 2013 September 24

Hi Everyone

I baked the above reciepe on the weekend and it is sensational, especially toasted.

Problem is all the fruits seems to be on one side of the loaf, I didn't put quite as much fruit in as the recipe says, but I couldnt get the dough flattened to a 40 x 50 cm rectangle either, I just coverd the dough with fruit and followed the recipe.

Can anyone offer a reason why the fruit ended up in one side of the loaf, if you cut a slice and cut that in half, its almost like it's been cut from two different loaves.

Thanks and Regards

Mal

farinam's picture
farinam 2013 September 24

Hello Mal,

The technique that I use is to incorporate the fruit during the stretch and fold development of the dough.  On about the second or third  stretch (to the A3 paper size) I spread a third of the fruit on the middle (long) third of the area and fold one of the clear one thirds over to cover it and press to seal.  Then spread another third of the fruit on top of the second dough layer and fold the remaining clear dough to cover and seal.  You now have a long thin strip with two layers of fruit and three layers of dough.  Then put half the remaining fruit in the middle one third of your strip and fold over to cover and seal.  The balance of the fruit then goes on top and the remaining flap is folded over to cover and seal.

Leave to rest as normal and repeat the stretch and folds.  Any fruit that escapes, just stuff it back in somewhere inside one of the folds.

When the dough is developed, shape your loaf and prove.  It will probably take longer than your normal (non-rich) bread.

Hope this is clear enough and that it helps.

Regards

Farinam

Trish 2016 June 21

What a lovely recipe...haven't cut it yet, but the dough felt wonderful.  Put in the fridge overnight and baked in the morning.

farinam's picture
farinam 2016 June 22

Hello Trish,

That does look very nice.  There is another fruit loaf recipe on the site that uses Earl Grey Tea as the liquid and that is very nice as well.

Good luck with your projects.

Farinam

Salewhite 2016 July 11

Hi

have only just discovered this site but did so while looking for a fruit bread recipe. Sorry am years behind! I use a 100% rye starter which I mix with extra flour and leave overnight to get unread 200g. Other than that I pretty much did as in the recipe other than have to stick the mix in the fridge while I went to church. I'd use a bit less fruit next time. I think too some cardamom would be great rather than cinnamon. It was gorgeous. Thanks for the recipe.

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