Cinnamon Raisins Sourdough Bread

This cinnamon and raisins sourdough bread is absolutely incredible for breakfast, toasted up with butter or peanut butter! This cinnamon and raisins sourdough bread is easy to make even if you are a beginner. 

You might be saying to yourself "I can't make sourdough"-perhaps the whole process intimidates you. While it certainly is a multi-day endeavour, rest assured that sourdough id easy to make at home once you understand the basics.

Ingredients:

• 100g active levain
• 500g flour, I use 60% white flour and 40% whole grain flour. 
• 9g salt
• 350g water
• 100g raisins
• 8g ground cinnamon

Method:

Once your levain is ready, combine 100g of the levain with 350g of water. Add the flour to the water mixture and using your hands, mix to combine.

Once the dough is mixed, cover with tea towel or shower cap and let it rest at room temperature for 40 minutes to rest. Meanwhile, soak the raisins in room temperature water, making sure the raisins are covered with water.

After the elapsed 40 minutes resting time, add the salt. Mix well until combined. Drain the raisins and mix them into the dough along with the cinnamon.

DO THE FIRST FOLD:  To do this, get your hands damp and reach under the dough on the opposite side of the bowl from you. Pull the dough up and over towards you.

Repeat this so the side closest to you folds over to the side away from you and the side on your left folds towards your right, and your right folds towards your left. This is called the envelope fold or think of as wrapping a package.

Then scope your hands under the ball of dough and flip it over completely. This completes one "fold".

Complete 6 more folds, one fold every 30 minutes for 3 hours in total.

SHAPING THE DOUGH: Begin by taking the dough out of the bowl and letting it rest on the counter for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, prepare the banneton by dusting it with flour, or layer a clean tea towel in a medium mixing bowl and dust liberally with flour.

Shape your dough making sure you get as much surface tensions as possible without tearing the outside of the loaf.

Once shaped, turn the loaf into the lined and floured bowl or banneton, top down, seam side up.

Gently flour the top before covering the edges of the tea towel. Set in the fridge overnight.

BAKE DAY: The next day place your dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 240ºC/220ºC for fan assist oven. After the oven has come to temperature, take the bread out of the fridge.

Gently invert the dough onto a baking paper that will be large enough to lift your bread into and out of the dutch oven.

Gently score the bread with a sharp knife or bread lame.

Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, take off the lid and then carefully lift the dough into the pot using the baking paper.

Place the lid back on the dutch oven and put the dutch oven back into the heated oven.

Reduce the heat to 220ºC/200ºC for fan assist oven and bake for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the lid and bake for another 25 minutes with lid off.

Remove the pot from the oven and carefully lift out the loaf using the edges of the baking paper and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!