Almond and Cranberry Loaf

I love sweet, fruit breads for breakfast, and having a day with nothing much happening, decided to make one. I had the last of my jar of almond butter, and the idea of using it instead of the usual mixture of brown sugar and butter appealed to me. It had a lot less sugar, but was still creamy and full of flavour. I found some dried cranberries that had been forgotten about, and used them for the fruit component.

The bread was soft, full of chewy fruit and not too sweet...a perfect breakfast bread!

Heat until the butter has melted:

1 cup milk
2 ounces soft butter
3 tablespoons honey

Allow the liquid to cool until it is just above body temperature.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook, add the warm liquid to:

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Leave for a few minutes, until the yeast begins to activate.

Add:

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt

Mix on medium speed until combined. The mixture will be very runny and slightly lumpy.

Add:

1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup flour

Mix on medium speed to combine.

Continue adding flour while the dough is mixing. You will need another:

1 - 1/2 cups

When the dough has formed a ball around the dough hook, and is still slightly sticky to the touch, turn it out onto a lightly floured board.

Knead by hand until smooth and elastic, and no longer sticky, adding small amounts of flour as needed.

Place the ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.

Leave in a warm, draft free area to rise...

....until doubled in size.

This should take at least an hour, depending on the temperature in your kitchen.







Make the filling while you are waiting for the dough to rise.

 Mix together until well combined, smooth and creamy:

1/3 cup almond butter
1 tablespoon soft butter

 In a separate bowl, combine:

1/2 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Set aside until needed.







 Now it's time to shape the bread. Lightly grease a 9" springform pan, and set it aside until needed.

On a lightly floured counter, rolled the dough out to a rectangle that measures approximately 12" X 18".

Spread the almond butter mixture over the dough, and then sprinkle the cranberries over the top.

With the long side of the dough facing you, roll it up as shown.

Spiral the rolled up dough into the prepared pan, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise....

....until doubled in size.

Heat the oven to 350F and brush the top of the dough with egg wash.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave for 5 minutes before carefully removing the sides of the springform pan.







Allow the bread to cool to room temperature before slicing. Serve it as is, or toast it and spread with soft butter, and honey for breakfast.

• For the fruit part of the filling you can use any dried fruit you have on hand...apricots, raisins, blueberries. 
• Chopped fresh fruit such as apples, pears or peaches can be cooked with a bit of sugar and cinnamon until softened and used in the filling instead of dried fruit.
• Add nuts for a bit more crunch...chopped pecans, almonds, macadamia nuts.
• No almond butter...use any other nut butter, chocolate hazelnut spread, or combine equal parts brown sugar and soft butter. Cream cheese can also be used...plain or flavoured.
• Grated orange or lemon zest can be added to the dough.
• The dough can be shaped into a regular loaf and baked in a loaf pan. It can also be cut into 2" slices once rolled and baked as you would cinnamon buns.
• The bread can be used to make French toast, or bread pudding.