Fruit Bread

Hi all. This year, I had full plans of trying few versions of dry fruit cakes during the Christmas season. And I had soaked various dry fruits like cranberries, raisins, sultanas, black currants, dates, dehydrated apples, strawberries, pappaya, cherries etc. I soaked in 2 batches using spiced tea decoction and home made grape juice respectively. I tried 2 cakes using both the versions, but quite satisfactory results. But Neha doesn’t like such fruit cakes and so I was forced to distribute it among friends. 

Now, I didn’t have plans to use loads of  butter and sugar and make more cakes. But I had to somehow finish off those soaked fruits too. I had a strong desire to try a Panettone this year. After trying my hands on sourdough, and seeing so many Panettone recipes using both commercial yeast and natural yeast, I was really excited to try it. But then the addition of eggs and loads of buttee in the Panettone, made me rethink a bit. I was pretty sure that Neha wouldn’t touch it and hubby might eat a slice or two maximum, and I will end up gulping the whole thing 🙂

So the best option was to finish off the soaked fruits, but at the same time, make something not so rich and heavy. The below recipe fulfills both the requirements quite efficiently 🙂 This is a partial healthy fruit bread with whole lot of dried fruits, equal quantities of all purpose flour, semolina and whole wheat flour. I have also used a spoonful of spice mixture (cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg), milk, butter and oil. I have used a 240 ml cup.

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour 100 gm
• Semolina 100 gm
• Whole wheat flour 100 gm
• Salt to taste
• Instant yeast 1/2 tsp (heaped)
• Lukewarm milk 100 ml
• Lukewarm water 50 ml
• Soaked dry fruits 3/4-1 cup
• Canola oil 1-2 tbsp
• Butter 2 tbsp
• Spice mixture 1/2-1 tsp
• Honey 1 tsp

Method:

• Dissolve the instant yeast in 50 ml of lukewarm water and add the honey to it. Stir it well and keep aside till it is frothy and full of bubbles. 
• Mix all the flours and add salt to it. 
• Now add the soaked dry fruits to the flour and mix well.
• Now add the yeast water and mix.
• Slowly sprinkle the lukewarm milk and start kneading. Use only as much milk is needed.
• After kneading for 3-4 minutes, sprinkle little oil on your hands and knead again.
• Slowly incorporate the butter into dough and knead well till it becomes very very soft and supple.
• Take a clean bowl and coat it with oil. Place the kneaded dough in the bowl and cover the bowl with a cling wrap.

• Keep the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise till it is double in volume. Poke holes in the dough and check. If the indentation remains, the dough is ready to be shaped. This might take around an hour or more depending on the temperature at your place.

• Once the dough rises well, transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently punch out the gases. 
• Shape it into a tight log and place it in a well greased (preferably parchment paper lined) bread tin. I have used a small 7 by 2.5 inches bread tin.
• Cover and allow to proof again for 30-40 minutes till the dough reaches around 1 inch above the rim. Apply some milk wash or egg wash on top. I did a mistake of allowing to proof only for 30 minutes, did to which my bread had a crack on the sides. 
• Meanwhile preheat the oven for 10 minutes at around 180-200 degree Celsius.
• Bake the bread for 30-40 minutes or till the internal temperature is around 90-100 degree Celsius.
• In case you feel the bread is browning too much on the top, tent the bread with an aluminum foil. 
• Brush the top of the bread with milk or butter or fresh cream for a golden colour.
• Remove from the oven and let it cool in the tin for 4-5 minutes.
• Generously brush the top of the bread with butter.
• Slowly transfer the bread from the tin into a wire rack and allow it to cool well. You may cover the top with a moist towel while it is cooling.
• Allow the bread to cool for atleast 2-3 hours before slicing.
• Enjoy a slice with some butter or marmalade or maple syrup. I think this will make wonderful French toasts too 🙂