This Raisin Pecan Bread recipe is an artesian style loaf that is hard on the outside, soft on the inside and loaded with warm cinnamon, plump raisins, and toasted pecans.
This raisin pecan bread is about to change your life. It is sweet, nutty, with a hard exterior and a soft and fluffy interior that is packed with flavor you could just eat it by itself.
Just looking at this recipe you might think it takes forever to make, but in reality, it just needs to rest. Ideally overnight for 12 – 18 hours. So simply put it together the day before you want to eat it, let it rest overnight, bake it the next morning, and voila!
Table of Contents
Why We Love This Recipe
- You only need 7 ingredients!
- It’s SO easy to make.
- No kneading is required.
Variations
Nuts – I love pecans in this recipe but if you prefer walnuts or something else you can swap it out.
Raisins – I prefer classic raisins when it comes to baking for this bread and my Soft Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. However, you can also use golden raisins or any other type you prefer.
Recipe Ingredients
Cinnamon – That warm cinnamon flavor compliments the pecans and raisins adding in a depth of flavor.
Pecans – I love baking with pecans. They offer this little crunch of texture in this bread and in my Browned Butter Toffee Pecan Bites.
Raisins – These shriveled grapes add a chewy, fruity, burst of flavor into this artisan bread.
For a full list of ingredients and amounts, see the recipe card below.
How to Make Raisin Pecan Bread
Step 1: Whisk the flour, salt, cinnamon and yeast in a medium bowl. While stirring with a wooden spoon, gradually add the water, stir until incorporated. Toss in the raisins and pecans, mix the dough gently and form into a rough ball.
Step 2: Transfer to a large clean (ungreased) bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free area at room temperature until surface of dough is covered with tiny bubbles and the dough has more than doubled in size (This usually takes about 18 hours or so, however, it still turns out great with just 12 hours of rise time).
Step 3: When the dough is ready, place a Dutch oven into the oven and turn it on to 450 degrees. Allow it to heat in the oven for 30 minutes.
Step 4: Meanwhile, transfer the dough to a large square of parchment paper (big enough to cover the bottom of your Dutch oven). Lightly dust the dough with flour, cover it with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Using a sharp knife, at a 90 degree angle, score an X on the top of the loaf. Each score mark should be about 3 1/2 inches long and about ¼” deep. Using a mister, spray bottle, clean toothbrush or pastry brush, lightly mist (or brush) the top of the bread with water.
Step 5: Carefully remove Dutch oven from the oven. Place the shaped dough into it, cover and return to the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 8-12 minutes or until the top is nice and dark (but not burnt). Remove from the oven and transfer the loaf bread to a cooling rack. Allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing to prevent a gummy crumb.
FAQs
If your bread didn’t rise correctly here are a couple reasons as to why. First, the yeast could be expired and therefore would effect how it rises. Second, not enough time to rise. For this loaf, it needs at least 12 hours but would benefit from 18 hours in total.
I love eating this bread by itself, with butter, honey, cream cheese, or even my Cranberry Orange Sauce.
Storage Information
You can store this bread in an airtight container on your counter for 3-4 days. If you want to freeze this bread, you can do so in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
It is not recommended to store this bread in the fridge because it actually speeds up the process that makes bread hard and stale.
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Raisin Pecan Bread Recipe
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Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour - OR bread flour
- 1 3/4 tsp coarse kosher sea salt
- 1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cup +2 tbsp warm water
- 1/2 cup raisins - fresh is best
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans - coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, salt, cinnamon and yeast in a medium bowl. While stirring with a wooden spoon, gradually add the water, stir until incorporated. Toss in the raisins and pecans, mix the dough gently and form into a rough ball.
- Transfer to a large clean (ungreased) bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free area at room temperature until surface of dough is covered with tiny bubbles and the dough has more than doubled in size (This usually takes about 18 hours or so, however, it still turns out great with just 12 hours of rise time).
- When the dough is ready, place a Dutch oven into the oven and turn it on to 450 degrees. Allow it to heat in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, transfer the dough to a large square of parchment paper (big enough to cover the bottom of your Dutch oven). Lightly dust the dough with flour, cover it with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Using a sharp knife, at a 90 degree angle, score an X on the top of the loaf. Each score mark should be about 3 1/2 inches long and about ¼" deep. Using a mister, spray bottle, clean toothbrush or pastry brush, lightly mist (or brush) the top of the bread with water.
- Carefully remove Dutch oven from the oven. Place the shaped dough into it, cover and return to the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 8-12 minutes or until the top is nice and dark (but not burnt). Remove from the oven and transfer the loaf bread to a cooling rack. Allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing to prevent a gummy crumb.
Any raisins on the outside burned. No sweetness except for raisins, will add sugar next time.c
You haven’t said what size Dutch oven.
The bread turned out great but the dough was extremely sticky and I was wondering if that is normal. I had to add about a 1/4 cup of flour to be able to work with the dough from the bowl to the dutch oven.
The raisins and nuts makes the bread awesome but the bites without the raisins and nuts are very plain. Is that expected? I am guessing that without sugar, the answer is yes. The easiest solution is to enjoy with butter, which we will. Thanks for sharing, for my first time, it worked very well.
Hi Tyler. Yes, the dough is rather soft and sticky. It’s sort of blob-like when you place it in the Dutch oven. As far as the bread tastes, it’s not going to be sweet like the standard cinnamon swirl loaf. That includes sugar in both the dough and the cinnamon swirl. You can up the amount of cinnamon if you like, or you can always try adding sugar to the dough, however, I have not tested it that way so I’m not really sure how it would turn out. It may be a fun experiment though!
Followed recipe exactly and it turned out beautifully! I didn’t have pecans so doubled the raisins. Thanks for sharing a wonderful recipe!
You are so welcome!! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out!
Hi, What is the smallest Dutch oven size that would work for this recipe.
My husband’s teeth do not allow him to eat very crusty bread. How can I make it less crusty? Leave the lid off? Don’t spray with water?