Honey Orange Prune Bread

Profile picture for user Floydm
Floydm on 19 Jul 2007 at 17:03

This weekend I baked an Orange Prune Bread from Beth Hensberger's Bread Bible. 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.

browndog on 19 Jul 2007 at 17:25

Every time I come across this recipe, the honey orange part engages me and the prune part cuts me loose. Do they really work? The photo shows a very inviting-looking loaf, and the whole wheat touch is nice. One does cling to one's biases, but I'm preparing to abandon this one.
Profile picture for user Floydm

Floydm on 19 Jul 2007 at 20:42

I would agree that I've never found prunes inviting. They are always something I've associated with old people with constipation. But my wife picked some up to make a Russian-style roast pork loin stuffed with plums and I got over the bias. Indeed, they are just dried plums and I love plums. The only objection to this recipe came from my wife, who doesn't like citrus zest. That is unfortunately, because there are few things I prefer baking with than orange or lemon peel.
I finally tried eating a prune, and was surprised to find it quite tasty.  And I think they're lovely in baked goods.
...I associate this combination of flavors with Hamantaschen filling--my favorite actually, so I am sure I would like them in bread as well.

I googled a bread recipe using orange and prunes and used this recipe.  It turned out terrific.  I didn't have wholewheat flour, so used all purpos flour.  I also heated the milk, water, butter to 125 degrees, then added the yeast to the liquids.  I had a 1/2 cup of raisins to use up so first heated them for 30 seconds in the microwave with 1/4 cup of rum. And then added them to the liquid mixture. I used both a glass bread loaf pan and a metal pan, and there was such a difference. The bread in the glass pan turned out much better.