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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

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)

13 comments:

  1. Hi Angel, it could be due to the type of flour you are using, maybe the recipe uses flour that is able to absorbs water better. If you suspect a recipe calls for a high liquid ratio, you can reserve some of the liquid, only add the reserved liquid a little at a time after the dough is formed, this way, it is better than having to add more flour. I miss my bread machine :'(

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow...loaf with coffee flavour! Must be very delicious....mmm. I'll be in Cloud 9 eating this with a cup of roasted coffee! :D Thanks very much for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Angel, the bread still looks good and coffee flavour, yummy! How I wish I have a bread machine...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi HHB,

    Thanks for sharing. I think that's the drawback of using a bread machine to knead. In the past when I only kneaded by hands I could 'feel' the dough and only added the liquid bit by bit.

    I read that ur bread machine had broken down but since you can knead so fast and efficiently I guess it doesn't really matter. :P

    ReplyDelete
  5. MaryMoh,

    Specially dedicated to coffee lover like u! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sonia,

    Yup, the coffee flavour is quite subtle so even non-coffee lover can have it too. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jess,

    If ur mixer is not powerful enough to beat dough u may consider to get urself a bread machine.

    Nowadays bread machine is quite cheap. U can easily get a decent one under $200 but mine is the super "ecomonical" one (I won't said "cheapo" lah). Sad to hear that it's alrady discontinued.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Angel,
    Happy New Year to you & family, new to bread making & was looking for raisin recipes, I like this coffee raisin loaf & would like your advise, can i make it into buns. TQ

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Delphine,

    Generally all bread recipe can be made in to bun but this recipe is specially for bread machine and the dough is very sticky (as what I recall), I think it will be difficult for you to shape into buns.

    If you would like to make buns, there are many recipe out there. You may also refer to some of sweet buns recipe in my blog, just add in raisins will do.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Delphine,

    Generally all bread recipe can be made in to bun but this recipe is specially for bread machine and the dough is very sticky (as what I recall), I think it will be difficult for you to shape into buns.

    If you would like to make buns, there are many recipe out there. You may also refer to some of sweet buns recipe in my blog, just add in raisins will do.

    ReplyDelete
  11. 你在哪里买300 best bread machine recipe

    ReplyDelete
  12. VG,

    那本书是图书馆借的。我没有在local bookstore看过。

    ReplyDelete

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