Opa Boers Raisin Bread Recipe.
I publish this here for the sake of posterity.
This is my Opa’s traditional recipe.
He was a bakker back in Holland. He came from a long line of bakers. They made knapperjes and baked bread for the local community before sailing across to the other side of the world for a new beginning.
I remember my Opa, Fred to his friends, Fokko to his family, well. Not the details of how he looked or what he smelt like, but the feeling of who he was and what he did.
His love of animals, his quiet determination, his kindness. He always had time for his Grandkids, even famously building his own pool for them all to enjoy.
This recipe makes three, yes three, full loaves because I assume if you were a baker for your local community there was very little point in making one solitary loaf of bread.
- 1 kilogram of white bread flour
- 1 kilogram of white bread flour
- 2 teaspoon of salt
- 2 teaspoon of salt
- 3 teaspoons of sugar
- 3 teaspoons of sugar
- 18-20 grams of yeast
- 18-20 grams of yeast
- 100 grams of gluten
- 100 grams of gluten
- 400 grams of currants
- 400 grams of currants
- 400 grams of sultanas
- 400 grams of sultanas
- 50 grams of oil
- 50 grams of oil
- 3 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 3 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of mixed spice
- 1 teaspoon of mixed spice
- 2 eggs
- 2 eggs
- 700 mls of warm water
- Grease 3 bread tins
- Soak dried fruit in hot water
- Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix
- Add butter and eggs to warm water. Add oil Mix.
- Add liquid to dry ingredients and mix with dough hook until the bowl is clean.
- Drain fruit well and add it to the bread mix by hand and work in thoroughly.
- Cover bowl with greased glad wrap and wrap in a towel. Leave in a warm place to double in size.
- Tip onto a floured surface and knead.
- Shape into 3 loaves and place in tin.
- Brush with water and leave to rise in a warm place until the tins are all full.
- Cook in a 170 degree oven for 50 minutes but check the bread after 40 minutes and if it is getting too brown turn the oven down.
- Cool on rack.
- Brush with glaze of sugar and water combines and heated.
Father Boer