This is really a raisin bread.
I based this bread on Lahey's Carrot Loaf recipe. I didn't have any carrot juice on hand, but I did have some Grape Juice that we preserved last fall. Using a Dampfentsafter, we juiced the grapes. I used virtually the same amounts as Lahey did (only I cut back a bit on the nuts; and I didn't have walnuts, I had cashews; and I used raisins for my fruit, not currants).
I used bread flour, like Lahey wants us to for his recipes, even though in this blog I am generally trying to increase my whole grains rather than use processed grains. I suppose I was thinking that there would be enough goodness in this bread if I had enough raisins, juice and nuts. I was just curious to see what I could make with this juice, which has a strong sour note to it.
I didn't see all that much rise in the long fermenting stage. But there was some, the yeast was more active than it looks.
I dusted it with whole wheat flour in the couche proofing stage.
It really plumped up in the oven.
The cashews were a fortuitous choice. They lend an interesting counterbalance to the taste of the grape juice in the bread: they obviously have quite a soft texture for a nut, and high fat content that reminds me of macadamia nuts when placed next to the raisins this way. And the sweetness of the raisins goes naturally with the sourness of the juice too. This is a curiously interesting tasting bread, and I don't really understand why: all I am really doing is rehydrating a dehydrated grape and adding nuts and part of a grain.
Did the yeast ferment the raisins a bit too?
Notes to Myself:
- This is a good tasting bread, toasted with a bit of butter, but it is not what anyone would expect from a raisin bread
- Try this with a whole grain sometime. Will the slightly bitter taste of whole wheat detract from the taste of the grape juice, or add yet another layer of flavour? The crust is made with whole wheat, and even this small amount seems to add an interesting tone of complexity to the taste.
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