Raisin, Cranberry, Cinnamon Sourdough

 

Every summer when I traveled to Cape Cod, one of my favorite breakfasts was a loaf of raisin bread fresh from the Flying Fish bakery in Wellfleet. To be honest, I'm not even sure they still make it; they've become more of an upscale eatery. Still, every September, when I get back home, I try to make it. I got it right with this recipe from Maurizio, Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough. I made a few variations: I added my starter right from the get-go and I subbed dried cranberries for about 40% of the raisins.

But oh my. Getting the cinnamon to stick around through the bake was a complete success. Too often the flavor of cinnamon simply dissipates, but these loaves, four of them, were still aromatic when I made toast three days later. Right from the oven, the fruit was well distributed, the crumb was open and full of holes to absorb lots of butter, and the crust was so crackly that as I sliced a flaky snowstorm burst onto the cutting board.