Suburban Homesteading – Frugal Living

Nothing says lazy fall Sunday morning better than waking up to a house filled with the warm aroma of bread baking. And, not just any bread, but spice infused cinnamon raisin bread.

Years ago this was a staple in our house. Every Saturday evening, before we went to bed, we would load up the pan of our bread machine, set the timer and wake to that wonderful smell of warm bread and spices. The recipes we tried were so good that invariably we would eat almost the entire loaf by noon. Needless to say our taste buds and tummies loved this fall ritual, but out waistlines did not, so we suspended the routine until finally other activities took over and we barely remembered ever baking the bread at all.

That was until today’s cloud covered grey sky gave me reason to do more chores indoors than out. One project I’ve been slowing working on is to catalog and organize my library. I got the idea from a book on Thomas Jefferson. He kept meticulous records of a library boosting over 10,000 books from over a dozen different genres. There was art and music; agriculture and horticulture; science and astrology; architecture, history, poems and literature, and, of course a wide array of books from the age of enlightenment and its proponents.

My library isn’t nearly as large as Thomas Jefferson’s, but I did realize a few months ago that I had multiple copies of the same books. I can’t resist a good deal when our local library has its quarterly used book sale. But, taking up space with several copies of the same book leaves little room for new additions. So, in the Jeffersonian fashion I started cataloging my collection. When I got to my food and cook book section I stumbled across a collection of recipes I had strewn throughout the pages of a book on breads. In the stack of papers was hand written notes about our long lost Sunday ritual.

As I flipped through the slips of paper a wave of nostalgia came over me and I just had to bake a loaf of our favorite morning bread. When I pulled out all the ingredients an almost empty package of candied pecans caught my eye. I thought “what the heck”, this is a very forgiving recipe, why not throw them in as well, and I placed them on the counter. I measured and loaded the pan of the bread machine, turned it on and waited for that old familiar aroma to fill the house. When the bread finally finished I set it out on a cooling rack for a few minutes before slathering it with butter. I sank into my chair with a cup of hot tea and relished every bite. Isn’t it wonderfully amazing how a smell can bring all those lovely memories flooding back?

To create your own fall baking tradition try the recipe below, or create your own. But, remember…you’ve been warned how good it is.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread with Candied Pecans

Ingredients:

1 cup water

2 tbsp butter

3 cups flour (you can also use ½ whole wheat flour)

3 tbsp brown sugar (can also use white sugar)

1-1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon (can also use pumpkin pie spice for a more spiced bread)

2-1/2 tsp yeast

¾ cup raisins

1/3 cup candied pecan pieces

Soak raisins in water while you load the bread machine pan with the ingredients in the order they are listed. Drain raisins well and add them to the pan. Set bread machine on “sweet bread” and start. That’s all there is to it. Makes about a 1 pound loaf.