Do you love raisin or sultana bread for breakfast?  It’s not tops on my list but every once in a while I make it just so I can toast it and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.  I know, I know but sometimes a sugar hit is just what you need when you’re ready to pull your hair out.

Making bread in the Thermomix is the easiest thing I do.  I add the water, the sugar and the yeast to the bottom of the bowl and set the temperature on low and swirl it until it just begins to get frothy then I toss everything else in on top of it.  I mix it on speed 7 for about 15 seconds and then on knead for two and a half minutes.  That’s it to first rise.  I tossed in the sultanas during kneading.

Normally bread takes about 30 minutes to rise on my heating plate but I knew this would take a bit longer with the fruit so I took Charlie to the park to walk along the river.  Early mornings, it’s dogs off-leash at the park and as we were strolling along we met the funniest looking dog I’ve ever seen and did I have a camera?  No!  He was with his owner, a scraggly elderly man with one leg that bent out sideways at the knee.

The dog was half poodle and half black jack russell terrier.  He was shaped like a poodle but with straight hair.  Straight WET hair – as he’d already been swimming in the ocean.  He and Charlie instantly made friends because they were the same size and the old man and I began to talk about how lovely the park was and how many people used it and how few people neglected to clean up after their dogs.

As we are standing there this huge white dog walks up beside us and makes the biggest poop in the world and his owner said, “Rex, come on,” and left it there.

I yelled, “CLEANUP, Aisle 7!” but he kept on walking.

I was getting a bag out of my stash when my new-found friend said, “Oh, I’ll get it”, and he quickly scooped it up.  We began walking to the bin and he asked me how old Charlie was and was he a good dog and how did I get him to come on command like that.  “He just likes to be with me, ” I said.  (He’s under my chair as I type)

Just as we were finishing our conversation, Charlie chased the scruffy black dog and both whizzed past us.  “What’s your dog’s name,” I asked.

“Ralph,” he said with a smile.   Seriously, who calls a dog Ralph?  (obviously this old man did!)

I yelled, “Hey, Ralphie!!” and sure enough he came running right behind Charlie who wasn’t sure that hey ralphie didn’t mean, ‘I have a treat for you.’

“I thought you said he didn’t come.”

“He doesn’t for me,” the old man sighed.

THEN I remembered the freakin’ bread.  Charlie and I ran/walked to the car.  A run/walk is where you are going as fast as you can without your boobs flopping everywhere.

We got back to the house just in time – no overflow out of the bowl.  I quickly shaped it into a not very pretty loaf and back on the heating plate it went for just about 30 minutes and then in the oven.  This bread is not overly sweet nor is it filled with cinnamon – remember that I like to put cinnamon sugar on top.

My apologies for the photographs.  I know you were expecting nifty things after I got new lights.  It was breakfast and someone quite elderly who shall remain nameless was eager to eat so we ate that bread piping hot.  As you know, piping hot bread doesn’t cut well. (Notice the end piece is already gone.)  I also didn’t take the time to brush the top with a little bit of honey (mixed with boiling water) so it would be all shiny for you.  Next time!

This bread was made in a Thermomix.  I can’t give you “American measurements and method” because it’s written for a Thermomix which has an in-built scale.  There are lots of raisin bread recipes on the net that will work just fine for bread machines or hand mixing.