Fruit bread

Fruit bread is made from an enriched bread dough, meaning it contains eggs, milk, butter, and a little sugar. This creates a tender bread that is great for breakfast and toast! This bread is a festive bread, served around the holidays like a Christmas bread or an Easter bread. It gets its name because it's loaded with dried and candied fruit, anything from raisins and dried cherries to candied citrus peel or even glacéed cherries. It's a very similar taste to hot cross buns.

What is fruit bread made of

If you want to make this fruit, you will need the following ingredients:

• butter, preferably unsalted butter because you will add salt to the dough, but if you have salted, it will work. Just adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly, otherwise your bread may be too salty
• milk, either 2 % or whole milk works fine in this recipe. I've even tested skim milk! Combined with the butter, sugar, milk, and eggs, these ingredients contribute to a softer crust and crumb
• large eggs, don't use smaller eggs because your bread dough may be too dry and will require more liquid. Don't use extra large eggs either because you may need to add more flour to compensate
• vanilla extract adds a little flavour and sweetness to the bread dough, without overpowering. It's not essential to the recipe and you can skip it if you don't want it in your bread
• all-purpose flour is needed to bind all the ingredients together and give the dough structure through gluten. Don't use cake flour here, which has more starch and less protein
• granulated sugar sweetens the dough just slightly, but also helps tenderize it along with the fat in the recipe, leading to a softer texture
• yeast is a leavening agent that helps your bread rise so that the crumb is open and light. I've tested this recipe with instant yeast (also called rapid rise) and with active dry yeast (which is slower to act), and it works well with both
• ground cinnamon is added to flavour the dough but you can skip it if you don't like cinnamon
• salt is really important to balance out and also bring out the flavour. Don't skip it. I like to use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt, but table salt will work, though the bread will be a little saltier and you may want to halve the salt in that case
• dried and/or candied fruit is where the bread gets its name. You can use raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dried fig, candied citrus peel (orange, lemon, and/or citron), chopped dried apricot, dried or candied cherries (chopped if they are big), chopped dates, etc. Use the type of dried fruit you like to eat. Just stick to the same amount listed in the recipe.

Special equipment

To make yeasted doughs like this, I highly recommend using a stand mixer to make it easier. This bread will fit in a 5 quart or a 6 quart mixer. I've made it in a KitchenAid Artisan 5 quart mixer and the 6 quart pro mixer.

You have to knead it for 5 to 10 minutes to form a smooth, pliable dough, which is why a stand mixer is best. Of course, you can knead it by hand, but that could take 10 to 20 minutes of work to achieve the same result.

For baking this bread:

• if you want a loaf, bake it in a large 1 pound loaf pan (9" x 5")
• for a braided boule, I baked it on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. It would likely also fit in a 9 inch cake pan, which would prevent the bread from spreading outward as it bakes. Baking in a cake pan will yield a taller bread, if that's what you want. Line the cake pan with parchment.

Ways to shape fruit bread

A traditional fruit bread is breaded, like a challah bread or other enriched breads. You can shape it as a loaf, or divide the dough into equal portions and braid it. I've baked this recipe in:

• a large 1 pound loaf pan (like this Nordic Ware loaf pan) to make a big sandwich loaf
• on a half sheet pan, lined with parchment, shaped as a braided boule made with 4 strands of dough.

It honestly doesn't matter how you shape the bread. Do what you can!

Tips for success

Yeast is alive and likes to be warm

Don't kill your yeast! Yeast is a leavening agent that is alive, which means it thrives at a certain temperature, but could die if you go too far beyond that. Make sure that your liquids are around 100–110 ºF (38 ºC) to ensure they grow at a good rate and are happy.

The times are just suggestions

If the ambient temperature of your kitchen is too low, like if you are making this bread during the winter months, your bread may take double the time to rise and proof properly. Conversely, in summer months, if it's hot out, your bread may rise in half the time. Experienced bread bakers have a saying: "watch the bread dough, not the clock!" Look for signs that the dough has risen sufficiently. The times in this recipe are just a guide.

Make sure to give your bread dough enough time to rise and also to proof before baking. If you don't, your bread may be a little more dense and firm, and the crumb won't be as fluffy. If it's not proofed enough, the bread will still taste great and make excellent toast, so don't stress too much about this.

Substitutions

Though I would not encourage you to vary too much with the ingredients for the bread dough, there are a few substitutions you can try:

• replace the instant yeast with active dry yeast, which is coarser and slower to grow, so you will need to give more time for the dough to rise and proof
• replace the milk with a lactose-free milk or a non-dairy beverage, using the same volume
• replace the unsalted butter with a vegan butter substitute, but read the labels carefully to make sure they aren't adding a lot of salt!
• replace the raisins and candied citrus peel with your favourite dried fruit, for example, dried cherries, dried cranberries, or even dried blueberries would be great in this bread recipe!
• replace the cinnamon with a different spice (cardamom would be fantastic!) or skip it altogether

Serving suggestions

If you are wondering how to serve fruit bread, it's great sliced, served at breakfast or brunch with salted butter and homemade jams, especially orange marmalade. I personally like to sprinkle buttered slices with a little extra flaky sea salt, but you can enjoy it however you like!

Storage

This bread stores well and can last up to a week. Wrapped tightly in aluminum foil, it won't dry out for several days. I recommend that you slice the loaf of fresh fruit bread after it's cooled at room temperature for a full day. Then, store the sliced bread in the freezer in an airtight freezer bag. You can toast the frozen slices for breakfast whenever you want and it will taste as fresh as the day it was baked.