Cinnamon Raisin Brioche Loaf

It's time to try something new! Cinnamon Raisin Brioche Loaf

This recipe is inspired by both cinnamon rolls, a chocolate coffee cake from Martha Stewart, and a great Brioche recipe from Julia Child's book The Way to Cook.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche

A bit of a labour of love but worth every second. Make 2 at the same time.. one for the freezer.

See how after the jump...

This makes one big loaf.
For this recipe I used:

2 1/4 Teaspoons of dry-active yeast
3 Tablespoons of Warm Water
2 Teaspoons of Sugar

3 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons of Salt
1/3 Cup of Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon*
6 Ounces of Unsalted Butter

4 Large Eggs
1/3 Cup Milk

For the filling:
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Whey Low Brown Sugar*
1 1/2 Cups of Raisins*
2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon*

I started by gathering all of the ingredients together and cutting the butter into small pieces and storing them in the freezer until needed.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Ingredients

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Cut up Butter

I proofed the yeast by sprinkling the yeast over warm water mixed with the sugar and letting it sit for 5 minutes until nice and bubbly. The water should not be over 110 degrees.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Yeast

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Proofing the Yeast

I gently whisked together the milk and eggs and set them aside.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Eggs and Milk

I added the flour, salt, sugar, and cinnamon to a sifter and sifted them into a bowl. I added the flour mixture to the food processor along with the well chilled butter and processed them together in pulses until small granules of butter could be seen.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Sifted Flour and Cinnamon

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Adding the Butter

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Processed

With the food processor running I added the egg/milk mixture to the flour until a ball formed. A ball did not form for me so I must have added the liquid too quickly. I removed the final mixture on to a flour covered counter and kneaded it for 1 or 2 minutes until a silky texture was achieved. I gathered the dough into a nice ball.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Adding the Eggs and Milk

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Until just Combined

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Turned out onto Counter

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - After a Gentle Knead

I placed the ball in a glass dish with a towel over it and put it in a warm spot. The warm spot was my oven heated to 170 and turned off. I let the mixture rise for about 90 minutes until it reached 1 1/2 times its original size.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - After the Rise

I then flipped the dough onto a floured counter and squished the gas out if it while spreading into a rectangle. I folded the rectangle into thirds and spread the dough out again. I once again folded the dough into thirds and eased the package into a nice ball.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Rolled out

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - First Fold

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Second Fold

I placed the ball back into a glass bowl and covered it with plastic wrap and placed it back in a warm spot for another 90 minutes or so until it had doubled in size.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Ready for the Second Rise

Next I gathered the filling ingredients together and mixed the Whey Low Brown Sugar and the cinnamon together. I lightly sprayed a loaf pan with oil spray.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Cinnamon and Whey Low Brown Sugar

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Cinnamon Mixture, Raisins, and Sour Cream

I took the dough and spread it out into a rectangle about 18 x 11.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - 18 x 11 Rolled out Dough

I spread the sour cream evenly across the dough followed by the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Next came the raisins*.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Mixtures Spread Out

I rolled the loaf up on the long side being careful to keep the raisins in. Once rolled I bent the log in half then braided it slightly. I put the whole loaf into the loaf pan , covered it with plastic and put it back into the warm place.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Rolling it Up

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Bending the Roll

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Braiding the Roll

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Ready for the Pan

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Ready for the Final Rise

It took about another hour for the loaf to rise again. I warmed the oven to 350 and placed the unwrapped loaf pan into the oven to back for 45 to 60 minutes with an internal temperature of 200 degrees.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Risen and Ready for the Oven

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - It's Done!

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - The Oh So Long Cooling Time

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche - Ready to Eat

When the loaf was done I turned it out onto a cooling rack and let it cool for 2 hours.

Light... airy....  yum!

A couple of things I would do different for next time:

•    Increase the cinnamon in the bread dough to 2 or 3 tablespoons
•    Increase the brown sugar for the filling to 3/4 of a cup
•    Increase the cinnamon for the filling to 4 teapsoons
•    Increase the raisins for the filling to 2 cups
•    I would spread the extra 1/2 cup of raisins more to the sides of the dough before rolling up. This will produce more raisins at the one end
•    I would use an egg wash too coat the loaf before baking
•    I used extra long Chicago Metallic's Loaf Pans the I believe are now discontinued, you could easily use their 1.5 lb loaf pan

Happy baking!