Comments on: Cinnamon Raisin Bread

By: SteveB

SteveB — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 17:20:59 +0000

Hi Gene,

The loaf pans used were standard 8½” x 4½” pans.
One can use an internal temperature of ~200ºF as a measure of when baking is complete.

By: Gene

Gene — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 18:06:18 +0000

Hi Great site.
Two questions. What siaze loaf pans ?
Finished internal cooking temperature ?

Thanx Gene

By: SteveB

SteveB — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:41:22 +0000

Hi Areta,

Thanks are better late than never! :>)
(and it’s been my pleasure!)

By: Areta

Areta — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 09:04:28 +0000

This is one of my favorite breads to make! I figure it’s about time that I thank you for it as it’s my go to cinnamon raisin loaf… and my go to dough for sweet breads. The dough texture is one of those that you could happily knead or french fold all day.

Thank you!

By: SteveB

SteveB — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:51:14 +0000

Hi Chris,

You are quite right. The percentage of butter in the formula is in error. The flour from the poolish should have been included in the calculation. The correct percentage should be the amount of butter divided by the total amount of flour in the formula or 90/(185+380+40+40) = 14%. Thanks for the correction!

By: Chris J.

Chris J. — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 21:18:54 +0000

Hmmmm, i may have partially figured out some of my questions. the total weight of the poolish comes to 80% of the flour weight, and with not figuring the weight of the flour and water from the poolish into the over all flour and hydration percentages, the dough would be at 52% hydration (if i’m thinking about this correctly). Originally i added the poolish flour and water to the total flour and hydration percentages and figured the dough to be at 66% hydration, which seemed a little high. I feel like there’s something easy that’s not clicking.

By: Chris J.

Chris J. — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 20:56:22 +0000

Hello again, Steve. I hope everything is going well for you. I have yet another question. I’m trying to get into baker’s percentages to make life more simple when changing dough amounts and i realized that your estimation of the butter’s percentage (at 20%) was made without taking into account the weight of the flour in the poolish (unless i’ve overlooked something). So i guess my question is how does one determine the amount of poolish that is necessary for a certain type of bread. Does it depend on the level of enrichment? Also, when calculating the percentages of the ingredients, the water, yeast and flour of the poolish should not be added into the totals? Sorry for pestering. Love your site,
Chris Johnson

By: eka

eka — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 09:06:08 +0000

Nice web…
Now i can make international breads in my own kitchen…

By: SteveB

SteveB — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 01:56:08 +0000

Chris,
It is quite possible to have too long a first fermentation. If the dough is allowed to ferment for too long, proteases present in the dough will begin to degrade the gluten, leading to a reduction in the elasticity of the dough. A one hour first fermentation, at the specified temperature (72°F), should be sufficient for the formula in the post above. Scaling up of the formula may have a minor effect on fermentation times, due to the mass effect (i.e., a smaller surface to volume ratio with larger quantities of dough leads to slower temperature equilibration times) but nothing significant enough to warrant splitting up the first fermentation batch. After all, commercial artisan bread bakeries ferment large multi-kilo dough batches all the time.

By: Chris J.

Chris J. — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 01:40:23 +0000

Thanks for explaining those factors. Is it possible to go too long with the first fermentation or would it be better to go too long rather than too short? With this bread, i haven’t gone over an hour. Also, if one were to scale this recipe for 6 loaves, for instance, would the fermentation times need to be altered? And would it be ideal to split into 3 parts for the first fermentation or does that really not matter? Thanks again!