Cinnamon Spiced Raisin Bread

GLUTEN FREE, GRAIN FREE, DAIRY FREE, SOY FREE  REFINED SUGAR FREE, PALEO

This Cinnamon Spiced Raisin Bread has a gentle earthiness reminiscent of whole-grain bread and a chew and texture that rivals a decent sourdough.  Yes, yes, you heard me right, I said sourdough!
Delicate aromas of cinnamon and vanilla nestle comfortably into the ever so pleasing nuttiness of toasty almonds.  Succulent bursts of raisins are scattered liberally throughout the loaf and are sure to please.

This bread is delightfully charming when toasted and topped with almond butter (or real deal butter if that suits you!) for breakfast, and heck, why not sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on top to polish off the whole delicious experience!

I also feel that I should mention that this recipe contains a couple of ingredients that I usually steer away from. Namely psyllium and linseed.  They are both mucilagenous fibres and may or may not work for your body.  If you do well with other mucilagenous fibres like chia seeds and slippery elm, then these ingredients are likely to serve you well!

Now to the recipe!  I hope you love it!


Recipe - I have divided the ingredients of this recipe into the order that they are added to your food processor or high speed blender.

FIRST
1 cup blanched almond meal
1 cup arrowroot flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup ground linseeds
2 tbsp psyllium husks
2 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp bicarb soda
Pinch of salt

SECOND
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
2 tsp vinegar (I use coconut vinegar but apple cider vinegar will work nicely too)
1 tsp pure vanilla essence

THIRD
1/2 cup raisins (if you like your raisin breads extra fruity feel free to add up to 1 cup of dried fruit, I have opted to keep the quantity at 1/2 cup to keep my FODMAP levels in check)

Method
To begin, preheat your oven to 170C and line a medium sized loaf tin with baking paper.
Now pop the "FIRST" ingredients into your blender and blitz on high until thoroughly combined.
Next place the "SECOND" ingredients into your blender (on top of your combined dry ingredients) and mix on a medium speed until a beautifully smooth bread batter forms.
Then add your raisins and mix on a low speed to evenly distribute the raisins through the bread batter.
Now spoon your bread dough into the prepared loaf tin and smooth over the top with damp hands.
Finally slide your loaf into the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
Once the 45 minutes is complete remove your bread from the oven.  If your bread is browning too much on top simply cover your loaf with foil before popping it back in the oven for a further 15 minutes. 
If the top of your bread is only lightly browned then there is no need to cover your loaf with foil, simply return it to the oven for the remaining 15 minutes.
Once the final 15 minutes are complete remove your loaf from the oven and allow to stand in the tin for a further 5-10 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling tray.
This loaf will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.  It also freezes very well!  I like to slice the loaf up with a bread knife and wrap it in 2-4 slice portions before freezing.
I hope you enjoy it as much as our little family!