I learned how to make bread from the Tassajara Bread Book (highly recommended!). The first time I made it I used all 9 dried fruits listed in the ingredients, and it was very good! This bread is sweet, and I highly recommend adding figs to give it a nice spicy flavor. Good for breakfast.
Ingredients:
3 C lukewarm water
2 pkg. (2 Tbsp.) dry yeast
1/4 C. honey or sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
1/3 C. oil or butter (butter does not have to be melted. It will be incorporated in the kneading)
2-3 C. chopped dried fruit of your choice (Apples, apricots, dates, raisins, cranberries, figs, blueberries, pears, and cherries are all good)
7 C. unsifted unbleached white flour
unbleached white flour for kneading
1. Combine water (that is neither warm nor cold on your wrist) and yeast in bowl. Stir to dissolve. Add sugar/honey.
2. Stir in 3 cups of flour. Stir with ~100 strokes to give the yeast a boost.
3. Cover with damp cloth and let rise until double (~1 hr) in warm place (85-95'F). I usually place my loaves next to the fireplace.
4. Sprinkle salt and oil/butter on dough. Fold in (cut dough as little as possible).
5. Fold in fruit, and then rest of flour.
6. Flour board and hands. Empty bowl onto board. Knead, adding flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking.
7. Lightly oil bowl. Put dough in bowl, turn to coat dough with oil.
8. Cover with same cloth and let rise until double (~1 hr) in warm place.
9. "Punch down," meaning gently squeeze air out of loaf with your fist. Do this all over loaf (about 15 times).
10. Cover with same cloth and let rise until double (~1 hr) in warm place.
11. Invert onto board. If kneaded well, you should not need flour on the board. Cut into two loaves.
12. Knead each loaf about 4 times. Flatten loaves with hands and roll into log.
13. Lightly oil bread pans. Place smooth side of loaves down in pans. Turn loaves over to coat with oil.
OR Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Place loaves smooth side down on sheet. Turn loaves over to coat with oil.
14. Turn the oven on to 350'F.
15. Cover with same cloth and let rise until noticeably bigger (~30 min.) in warm place.
16. Cut tops with scissors. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a dark rich brown and they sound hollow when thumped. Because of the large amount of sugar from the fruit, the loaves will naturally be very dark on the outside.
17. Immediately take loaves out of pans and place on racks to cool.
Variation:
To add more nutritional value and protein, substitute the 7 C. flour with
1/2 C. soy flour, 1/2 C. dry milk, 1/4 C. wheat germ, and 5 1/2 C. flour.
Vegans can use 1/2 C. flour instead of 1/2 C. dry milk and still get a
nutritional boost. Add 3 C. flour in step 2 as usual. In step 5, fold in
the soy flour, dry milk, and wheat germ before the rest of the flour. There
should be no noticeable difference in taste.