Cinnamon raisin bread recipe

A fabulous anytime treat! Eat it freshly baked with a cuppa - or toasted and buttered for breakfast

Ingredients

For the bread:

• 500g (1lb) strong plain flour
• 100g (3½ oz) caster sugar
• 1 level tsp salt
• 2 level tsp ground cinnamon
• 6-7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
• 150g (5oz) raisins
• 300ml (½ pint) milk, warmed
• 30g (1oz) butter, melted

For the glaze:

• 6 level tbsp caster sugar
• Butter, to serve, optional
• Baking sheet, buttered

Method

1. Tip flour into a bowl and stir in the sugar, salt, cinnamon, yeast and raisins. Mix together milk and butter and pour into the flour mixture. Mix until the ingredients bind together to form a soft dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, in a machine or by hand, until it's smooth and elastic.
2. Divide the dough into three pieces. Roll each piece into a long strip, then plait the three strips together, tucking the ends under the loaf.
3. Place the loaf in the centre of the baking sheet. Cover with a piece of oiled clingfilm and leave it in a warm place until it's doubled in size.
4. Remove the clingfilm and cook loaf in centre of a preheated oven at 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6) for about 20 mins; then reduce the oven temperature to moderate - 180°C (350°F, gas mark 4) and continue to cook the loaf for a further 20-30 mins, or until it sounds hollow when tapped (lift loaf and tap it underneath, too).
5. To make the glaze, dissolve the caster sugar in 4 tbsp boiling water.
6. As soon as the loaf is cooked, remove it from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack, then brush over the glaze. Leave the loaf to cool a little before slicing it, and serve it either warm or cold, with or without butter.