Raisin-Pecan Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups raisins
• 2 cups boiling water
• 3 cups lightly toasted pecan halves
• 2 tablespoons turbinado (raw) sugar
• 1 ½ cups water just slightly warmer than room temperature
• 1 tablespoon fresh cake yeast
• ½ cup poolish (see recipe)
• 4 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons finely ground sea salt

3 loaves

Preparation

1. Combine the raisins and boiling water in a bowl and set aside for 10 minutes. In the container of a food processor, combine 1/2cup of the pecan halves and sugar and pulse until the pecans are very finely ground. Set aside. Thoroughly drain the raisins and set them aside.
2. Place the warm water and yeast in a large bowl. Break the poolish into small pieces with your hands or a wooden spoon and add it to the bowl. Stir until fairly dissolved. Stir in the flour, ground pecans and sugar and salt. Stir until combined.
3. Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Slowly begin to fold in the raisins and the remaining pecan halves a little at a time. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.
4. Gently turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 3 equal pieces. Leave the pieces on your work surface and cover them with a tea towel. Let them rest for 10 minutes.
5. Gently shape each piece into a short log and place the logs on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Cover with the tea towel and let rise until the loaves just hold a fingerprint when lightly pressed, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees and have a plant sprayer full of fresh water ready. Using a single-sided razor at a 30-degree angle, slash the loaves diagonally with 2 3-inch slashes each. When the oven is hot, spray it thoroughly with water and immediately put the bread in and close the door. Spray the oven (not the bread) again 2 more times during the first 5 minutes of baking. Bake until bread is very brown and sounds hollow when the bottom is tapped, 25 to 30 minutes more.
7. Remove the loaves from the oven and cool them on a wire rack.

4 hours 15 minutes