Raisin Bread

4.58 from 14 votes

This Raisin Bread is a delightful, slightly sweet raisin bread with a soft and tender inside. Finished with a shimmering egg wash and a stunning braided design. Sure to impress, this bread is perfect for everyday breakfast, bread puddings or afternoon tea.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Rising Time1 15

Total Time2

Course: Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: raisin bread

Servings:

Calories: 242kcal

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Equipment

Ingredients

For the yeast mixture

4 teaspoon active dry yeast
4 teaspoon sugar granulated
1 large egg beaten
¾ cup milk warmed to 110F°

For the raisins

1 cup raisins
¼ cup rum

Dough

1 tablespoon lemon zest from 1 lemon
2 tablespoon lemon juice from 1 lemon
1 cup milk warmed to 110F°
4 tablespoon butter unsalted, melted
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar granulated
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups all-purpose flour add more flour as needed

Egg Wash

1 egg beaten

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make Yeast Mixture - In the bowl of your mixer add the yeast, 4 tsp of sugar, 1 egg, and the warm milk, mix everything well. Let it sit in a warm place for about 10 minutes until it froths up.
Prep Raisins - Soak the raisins in rum. You can warm up the rum to make this process happen faster. Use orange juice for an alcohol-free option. Drain them before adding them to the bread.
Make the dough: To the yeast mixture add the remaining dough ingredients, excluding the flour. Using the paddle attachment mix over medium speed until well combined. Switch to the dough hook and add 2 cups of the flour to the mixer bowl and mix over low speed until well combined. Add 2 more cups of the flour, mix and repeat with remaining flour. Make sure to mix for about 5 minutes. The dough should be soft and sticky.
First rise: Spray a large bowl with cooking spray, place the dough in the bowl and spray the dough itself with a bit of cooking spray. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free environment until doubled in size, about 40 minutes to an hour. Once doubled in size, punch it down to release some of the air out.
Shape into loaves: Divide the dough in half. I prefer to braid these loaves, but you can also just roll out each piece of dough into a loaf and place it into greased loaf pans. I prefer to do a 6 strand braid. To do so cut each half into 6 pieces, and roll each piece into long strips about a foot long. Braid as instructed above in the post. Repeat with remaining dough.
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Second rise: Place the loaves on a baking sheet and let them rise a second time until doubled in size in a warm, draft-free environment. Should take about 30 minutes.
Bake: Brush the loaves with the egg wash all over. Bake the bread for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

Recipe yields 2 loaves.
Nutritional information assumes 12 slices per loaf and nutritional info is per slice.
To maximize the shelf life of your homemade raisin bread, make sure to cool thoroughly before storing. Place in a plastic storage bag, breadbox, or wrap in foil and store at room temperature.
Properly stored, your raisin bread will last about 4 to 5 days.

Nutrition