A nice round loaf filled with plump raisins and sweet cinnamon.
Happy Cinnamon Raisin Artisan bread day! I can hear your laughs – what are you talking about, cinnamon raisin artisan bread day?! That’s not a thing!
Well.
It should be.
And I think today is a perfectly fine day to be given that title. It’s a day for celebrating because this bread is one of my most favorite types of bread with some of my favorite ingredients.
From the maple syrup to the ground cinnamon to the olive oil – it’s all a match made in Heaven.
The only ingredient I don’t absolutely LOVE here is the raisins. Not that I don’t like them, I do, but I just don’t love them. So usually if I’m playing around with them in a recipe, it’s because the recipe needs that flavor and texture that only a raisin can provide. Just because I don’t love them, doesn’t mean I won’t eat half a loaf of this bread. By myself. Raisins and all.
Essentials for Making Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Artisan Bread
Like I mentioned, this lovely round loaf gets it’s mouthwatering delicious taste from a combination of ingredients. And once it’s assembled, it’s easy, easy, easy.
Just position it on the baking sheet, let it rise and then pop it in the oven. But before all that can happen, there are a few things you need to know (better to be prepared than not!)…
Get all your ingredients prepped first
I’ll admit, I’m not always the most diligent with this – but hey, sometimes when you know the yeast needs to proof for a few minutes, why not do that first and then pull out the flours and portion the liquids while it’s doing its thing...
Right? Who hasn't done that?!
Well, don't try to skip this step in this recipe - it will backfire.
Get the ingredients out and portioned. Prepare the pan. Get the wooden spoon out. Trust me, things come together quickly in this recipe. Keep reading, you’ll see what I mean…
Mix and dump fast with the wet ingredients
So the 'wet ingredients' start with mixing the yeast. But as soon as it’s ready, it’s full steam ahead with the rest of the ingredients.
Here's a more complete plan of what to do next:
Set your proportioned ingredients together and start with the olive oil and remaining maple syrup. Add those in. (Make sure the bowl with the dry ingredients is close by because you’ll add everything to it about 30 seconds from this point.)
Quickly add the ground chia and the psyllium husk powder and mix just until combined.
Immediately dump the wet ingredients into the dry and mix it with your wooden spoon.
Work quickly otherwise the wet ingredients will gel up and the dough will become like a way-too-thick lump.
Knead it in the bowl
This is a little trick I discovered the first couple times making this. A big glass bowl is perfect for mixing ingredients but also perfect for kneading them. Just be prepared to get your hands ‘doughy’!
Expect to knead it for about 3 – 5 minutes to incorporate as much of the flour / raisin mixture as possible. You may need to wet your hands a little. I filled a measuring cup with water and just stuck my fingers in it every so often.
Form the loaf
While it will taste good no matter how it looks, if you want a nice, round loaf-looking bread, you’ll need to shape it up!
Form it into as much of a round disk as you can and get the top nice and smooth. You’ll want to flatten it a little and get it smooth before cutting the top slits in it.
The dough should be about 1 ½ inches thick.
Once it's formed, take a sharp knife and cut a cross in it about ½ inch into the dough.
And now for the recipe!
I’d love to hear what you think of this bread in the comments!
Recipe
Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Artisan Bread {Dairy Free and Gum Free}
Ingredients
Yeast activation ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups warm water 105 to 110 degrees F
- 1 Tbsp. dry active yeast
- 1 tsp. maple syrup
Wet ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tsp. maple syrup
- ⅓ cup ground chia seeds
- ⅓ cup psyllium husks
Dry Ingredients:
- 3 ½ cups light buckwheat flour
- ½ cup arrowroot powder
- 2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup raisins
Topping
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- Place the warm water in a 4-cup liquid glass measuring cup.
- Add the yeast and the teaspoon of maple syrup and whisk together gently. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes to activate the yeast. The mixture should get foamy.
- In a large glass bowl, add the buckwheat flour, arrowroot powder, cinnamon, salt and raisins. Mix together.
- After the yeast is activated, whisk in the olive oil, maple syrup, ground chia seeds, and psyllium husks into the water-yeast mixture. Work very quickly and whisk it a few times to incorporate the ingredients.
- Immediately pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together with a large wooden spoon until thick. When you can’t stir it any longer, use your hands and work the rest of the flour in. Dampen them with some water if needed.
- Once the flour is all worked in, turn the loaf onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. If not already, form it into a round disk.
- The dough should be about 1 ½ inches thick. Smooth the top out with dampened hands.
- Score the top of the dough with a sharp knife, about ½ inch deep.
- Cover the dough with a towel and let rise for 45 – 50 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Using a fork, beat the egg white and lightly brush over the risen dough.
- Bake the bread for 55 minutes or until dough is golden brown.
- Cool for about 10 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Proof the yeast first.
- Work quickly when mixing the wet ingredients.
- The disk of dough should be about 1 ½ inches thick.
Nutrition
Joan Tisdell
There is no oven temp provided! Do we just guess or is there an actual temperature?
Christine
Hi Joan,
Thank you for letting me know.
I've fixed it.
-Christine
Rene
How long do you let the bread rise and how long do you bake it and at what temp. The recipe seems to end after egg white.
Thanks
Christine
Hi Rene,
So sorry about that! I guess I forgot to hit publish for the instruction part of the recipe Yikes!
It's fixed!
-Christine
Brenda Ernst
Is there a substitute for the buckwheat flour?
Christine
Hi Brenda,
I haven't made it with a substitute for the buckwheat flour. But sorghum, millet and teff are close substitutes. Here's a chart that should help: https://zestforbaking.com/guide-to-gluten-free-flour-substitutes
Let me know if you try it!
~Christine
Maddy
Would it work to cook this in a loaf tin? Would you need to change the oven temperature and cooking time?
Tejal
Hi! I don't have chia. Is there something I can use as a substitute?
Christine
Hi Tejal,
So I use flaxseed in the recipe and that works wonderfully.
Hope that helps
~Christine
Stuart
is there an alternative to the arrowroot starch? I have corn starch, tapioca flour, rice flour, and glutinous rice flour. I also have both xanthan gum and psyllium husk powder.
Christine
Hi Stuart,
Tapioca starch will work just fine as a substitute.
Christine
Carolyn N Barber
I can't eat Buckwheat flour. What's the substitute? Also, can I bake this in a loaf pan?
CB
Christine
Hi Carolyn,
So go with something like millet, teff or amaranth as they are the closest in consistency https://zestforbaking.com/guide-to-gluten-free-flour-substitutes
And for the baking pan - I haven't tested it so I can't say for certain - but if you do, please let me know as I'd be curious how it turns out - probably a 9" x 5" would work best.
Christine
Jeanie
This was the easiest bread to put together. But, maybe it was bc I used my Cuisinart mixer (beaters) to mix the wet with the dry ingredients. Why get your hands all gummy if you don’t need to? Anyway, I beat it until all of the dry came together with the wet. It cleaned itself off of the sides of the bowl, then I dumped everything onto the parchment paper.
Thank you for the recipe. It’s my new, easy artisan bread recipe. I might even make it again for Thanksgiving.
Jeanie
Christine
Thanks Jeanie! So glad you enjoyed it - and great tip 🙂
Christine