Honey Orange Prune Bread
This weekend I baked an Orange Prune Bread from Beth Hensberger's Bread Bible [1]. Despite some quirks about the book that annoy me, all of the recipes I've baked from it have turned out very good. This recipe was no exception: I enjoyed it and my kids loved it.
Honey Orange Prune Bread
Makes 2 loaves
1 cup water
2 teaspoons (1 packet) instant yeast
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
Zest of 1 orange
8 ounces chopped pitted prunes
3 to 3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Combine the water, yeast, honey, and milk.
Stir in the whole wheat flour, butter and salt.
Add the orange zest, prunes, and flour 1/2 cup at a time.
Mix until you have a manageable dough that is slightly sticky but that can be handled by hand.
Knead for 4-5 minutes in a standmixer or from 5-10 minutes by hand.
Place the dough in a bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
Divide the dough and shape it into two loaves. Place each in a greased pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 while the loaves rise to double their size again, around 45 minute.
Bake the loaves at 350 degrees from 40-45 minutes, rotating them once halfway through.
Eat.