cinnamon walnut raisin brad - bread baker's apprentice challenge # 9

The bread baker's apprentice challenge is cinnamon walnut raisin bread this week. These loaves of goodness, like everything so far, are delicious*. I've baked it 4 times in the last two weeks, which is a sure sign it's quickly becoming a homestead favorite.

While not nearly as decadent as the cinnamon buns from last week, it still allows you to wallow in that amazing cinnamon bun odor. I like to think this makes for a healthier treat. Remember, we are trying to bake bread, not bake an extra tummy.

Jumbo flame raisins, fresh from Arizona, make for a nice change of pace.

The above dough is sans walnuts. Seeing as I baked 8 loaves in such a short period, I couldn't keep walnuts in stock so we went without.

This is a version with nuts. It's amazing how different the same recipe looks when I compared the two pictures.

The above loaf collapsed a bit, but don't let that fool you. It didn't take anything away from the enjoyment had while devouring this treat. After eating more than a fair chunk of sweet doughy goodness, lately I'm looking forward to cornbread this week.

*It's so good in fact that my friend Elliott, who hates cinnamon raisin bread with a passion, actually said this was acceptable. High praise everyone...high praise.