Sunday 22 July 2007

The Final Solution - Blueberry Bread

There are two types of people in this world - those who like raisins and those who don't.  The vast majority of the right thinking world are tortured by the delectable melange aroma of toasting raisin bread which is virtually inedible due to the sickly sweet, wrong mouth-feel texture of dried grapes.  The solution to this dilemma is to substitute the raisins with wild blueberries (they're drier than the farmed kind and more suitable to being baked in bread), which are delicious and also a high source of antioxidants (which is good if you've got an excess of oxidants).

Cinnamon Blueberry Bread
By:
Saxifrage Cucvara (I don't deny that a large proportion of this recipe has been stolen from someone in America but the likelihood that this person ever discovers my delicious deception is rather low so I will take all the credit)
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Ready In: 3 Hours 20 Minutes
Yields: Three Loaves (enough for a large family of civilians or a couple of members of the Immortal Class)

INGREDIENTS:
Bread
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup warm water
2 x packages active dry yeast
3 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup wild blueberries
8 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons milk (for moistening bread)
Cinnamon Swirl
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
  1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm.
  2. Dissolve yeast in warm water, and set aside until yeast is frothy. Mix in eggs, sugar, butter, salt, and blueberries. Stir in cooled milk. Add the flour gradually to make a stiff dough.
  3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes. Place in a large, greased, mixing bowl, and turn to grease the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled.
  4. Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Moisten dough with 2 tablespoons milk. Mix together 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon, and sprinkle mixture on top of the moistened dough.  Roll up tightly; the roll should be about 3 inches in diameter. Cut into thirds, and tuck under ends. Place loaves into well greased 9 x 5 inch pans. Lightly grease tops of loaves. Let rise again for 1 hour.  
  5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, or until loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when knocked. Remove loaves from pans, and brush with melted butter. Let cool before slicing.

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