Eating Healthier in Today's World

METHODS OF ADDING FRUIT TO YOUR BREAD

Continuing from our last post about adding fruit, nuts and seeds, to your breads, I will give you a few more tips about when and where to use the fruits, in this post.  Most recipes direct you to add dried fruits to the dough just at the end of the kneading period.  The advantage is that there is minimal wear and tear on the dough that way, the fruit is evenly distributed, and you don't have to fuss with it again.  I once had a customer complain to me that when she added candied cherries to her Christmas bread she got pink bread and no cherries.  That is what can happen with some of the fruits that can be added so it important to get it right.

On the other hand, if the raisins are too hot from steaming to add them at the beginning, or you want to add them to only one of the two loaves you are making, there's no law that says you have to add them in the first stage.  For example, you can fold fruit (and nuts) into the dough after the first rise, when you deflate the dough.  Press it flat, spread the fruit, fold it up, and let it rise again.  I will recommend to all Bosch Universal users who are only doing one rise to their bread,to add the dried fruits (or nuts)  in the last minute of kneading so the dough hook won't chew them up into little bits. 

Another alternative is to add the fruit when shaping the dough,  Instead of shaping in the usual way, roll it into a rectangle using many light strokes of the rolling pin.  Use as little flour on the board as you can get away with.  For a regular loaf pan, the rectangle should be about seven inches wide (just shorter than the length of the pan), and about 2 feet long.  Cover the surface of the dough with about 1/2 cup dry raisin-sized piece of fruits and/or about 1/4 cup chopped nuts.  Leave about 2 inches free at the far end so that you will be able to seal the loaf.  Lightly press the pieces into the doughwith your rolling pin so that the dotted surface is nearly smooth, and then roll the dough up tightly, being fanatically careful not to incorporate and air into the roll at all.  End up with the bare two inches and seal very well by pinching.  Place the seam downwards and run the rolling pin gently lengthwise over the loaf to expel any air that might have sneaked in.  Put the loaf in a greased pan as usual,.  Dust the top with cinnamon for extra pizzaz.

Because of all the pushing around, the loaf may want some extra rising time, but if you have done this perfectly, you will have a swirl of fruit and the sliced bread will not separate along the swirl, wreaking havoc with your toaster.  If the fruit is wet--steamed prunes for example--or if there is too much, or if you succumb to the temptation to add sugar and butter, the swirl will separate.  The wet fruit probably will also prevent the dough from cooking.  You will notice in our Maple Apple Oatmeal Bread recipe here, that will allow a longer baking time to accomodate the wet apples in the bread. 

Fruit as a Sweetener:  An elegant way to use fruit in bread is to let it provide both the liquid and the sweetener, producing a flavourful and long-keeping loaf,  Stew and puree any very sweet fruit.  Use the fruit and it's broth, blended together and cooled, in place of part of the liquid in a fairly basic recipe.  With applesauce, the fruit can make up all the liquid in the dough, except what is required to dissolve the yeast, of course.  The bread will be light and will keep well; but in spite of the quantity of fruit, it won't ge distinctly appley in flavour.  (The applesauce should be reasonabley sweet, please)  You can also use apple juice in your dough as a sweetening liquid.  One cup of apple juice is about as sweet as 1 Tbsp. honey:  it makes a loaf that rises well and has good colour, though the keeping quality of the bread is not enhanced as it would be by the use of whole fruit.

Peaches, pear, prunes--any sweet fruit simmered and pureed in the blender, can sweeten bread for you.  Often you won't need quite so much as with apple.  For example, used in this way, 1/2 cup per loaf of raisins does the trick; dates a little less.  But don't expect the flavours to sing out solo so much as to form part of a duet with the heartiness of the whole grain.  (It is bread, after all, not cake or jam)  Apricots, sour plums, fresh pineapple, tart grapes---fruits that aren't sweet themselves obviously can't be called on to sweeten your loaf.  any fruit that is very acid, even if cooked, will damage the yeast.  (pineapple fo example).

Try out this recipe on our site for Fruited Bread

I will talk a lot more about adding the nuts to your bread in our next post.