A sweet change of pace: Raisin bread

The little boy next door, Elliott, took care of our cats while we were on vacation. He did a great job, and I paid him what I figured was decent pocket change for a second grader. He seemed quite pleased. But I also figured I should send something over for his mom and dad, to thank them for helping him with this chore.

So today, instead of baking my garden-variety whole wheat bread the way I do almost every Saturday, I decided to make a couple loaves of cinnamon raisin bread so I could give one to Scott and Lisa (and keep one for us, of course.)

I used my recipe for bread dough, and after letting the dough rise the first time, I divided it into two balls. Following Joy of Cooking instructions, I rolled each into an 8-by-18-inch square. I brushed the dough with melted butter, then topped each square of dough with cinnamon sugar and an evenly distributed half cup of raisins. (I boiled the raisins first to soften them, then rinsed them in cold water.) Starting with the 8-inch side of my dough, I rolled it tight, pinched the seam and the ends and placed into a greased and floured 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, seam side down. I let the loaves rise for 45 minutes.

Then I brushed the loaves with a beaten whole egg mixed with just a pinch of salt. I sprinkled the top of each with two teaspoons cinnamon sugar, and baked them in a convection oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. While they were still hot, I brushed each loaf with melted butter, let them cool on a rack, and packaged one up to take to Scott and Lisa next door.

I'm hoping this'll convince them to help Elliott take charge of our cats again next time we go on vacation.