Coffee Raisin Loaf 咖啡葡萄干面包

This is a loaf made by bread machine.

The liquid to flour ratio in the original recipe is very high, higher than any bread recipe that I have ever tried. I was a bit skeptical but I still followed the recipe. When it was time to add the raisins, the mixture still looked like wet batter, normally by that time soft dough should be formed.

I was hesitating if I should add more flour..... I didn't want to waste one cup of rum-soaked raisins just in case the bread didn't turn out well. At the end I followed my instinct (aka "act smart" 假厉害) to add more flour. I didn't measure, just added bit by bit until I saw dough was formed, probably about 6 - 7 tbsp. Besides that I also omitted most of the spices used, as I didn't have them at home.

The dough rose beautifully in the bread machine during proofing, it almost touched the cover. I was very excited to see that. However, it was a short-lived glory, it sank half way during baking and became almost like a square loaf. :( Nonetheless, I still managed to cut into 10 decent slices, that is at least a consolation to me.

I only tasted the bread on the next day. Texture wise, it's slightly to the dense side (due to the excess flour added?), not cottony soft but not hard either. Taste wise it's good (can't go wrong with coffee and rum-soaked raisins) though the coffee taste was not as prominent as I expected (even though I used illy espresso coffee!).

I think I should not add the additional flour. I am quite sure the bread will turn out much softer with lesser flour. I should trust the authors because all the recipes were tested and tasted numerous times as what written in the book. Stupid me.

Anyway, my family still finished the whole loaf...in one day time. :)

Ingredients: (make 1kg loaf)
1-1/3 cups (325ml) freshly brewed coffee (room temperature)
1¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2¾ cups bread flour (I added more than required)
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground allspice (I omitted)
¼ tsp ground cloves (I omitted)
1½ tsp instant yeast
1 cup raisins (I pre-soaked in rum)

Method:
By Bread Machine
1) Measure all ingredients except raisins into baking pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer of your bread machine. Insert pan into the oven chamber.
2) Select "Sweet Cycle".
3) Add raisins at the "add ingredients" signal.
4) Remove and cool on wire rack once done.

Tip:
Brew extra-strong coffee and make sure to let it cool to room temperature before using it; hot liquid will kill the yeast. What I did was make the coffee with 1 cup of hot water then added 1/3 cup of cold water to make it into room temperature. This way I do not need to wait too long for the coffee to cool down.

Variation:
Substitute an equal amount of ground ginger for the allspice.

(Recipe reference: 300 Best Bread Machine Recipes by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt)