RECIPE: A Beginner's No-Knead Cinnamon Nutmeg Raisin Artisan Bread Suitable For Any Baker

2 Comments

If you’ve never baked bread from scratch before, this no-knead cinnamon nutmeg loaf is one recipe you can start from. It’s unlike your usual Singapore bakery-style breads. The loaf has a crisp crust, with a slightly chewy and holey interior, along with a light sweetness and beautiful tang to it. It's a hearty breakfast by itself, but enjoy it at any time of the day with your favourite condiments! [Go straight to recipe]

Easy No-Knead Bread Recipe

To anyone who has never attempted to bake bread before, some of the steps needed might seem too laborious and time-consuming. 

Although a bread machine or stand mixer can help to knead the dough, you’ll still need to continue kneading by hand, before shaping and proofing the dough twice before you can put it into the oven to bake.

Baking bread from scratch usually takes a lot of time and effort, and some of us are also daunted by the thought of it, especially with the countless tales of bread failures we might have heard.

Related: Why Did My Cookies Fail? Here Are 10 Possible Reasons Why Your Homemade Cookies Failed

But what if we told you that you don’t necessarily have to go through all that to get a fresh slice of homemade bread? 

This No-Knead Cinnamon Nutmeg Raisin Bread Recipe gives you a loaf of artisan bread with zero kneading involved. All you’ll have to do is to mix up the ingredients before leaving the dough overnight to rest. No kneading, mixer work, or complex shaping techniques required!

This is one recipe beginner bakers who have never baked bread before can confidently attempt.

How Artisan Bread Differs from Other Types of Bread

Most bread we get in Singapore bakeries are typically soft, fluffy, and sweet because of the amount of butter and sugar that go into them. 

Fat, which comprises up to 15% of the bread, tenderises the dough by coating and shortening the gluten strands created during kneading. 

As a result, the bread’s interior becomes extremely moist and tender. Just look at how soft and fluffy these sweet Matcha Rolls are!

Unlike this type of bread, this no-knead bread’s characteristics lean toward artisan bread, which has some notable differences. 

Artisan bread dough traditionally comprises four main ingredients: flour, water, salt, and yeast. 

Fat and sugar are only added in minimal quantities; some artisan breads even have none (think baguettes and pizza crusts). 

Artisan breads also tend to have thicker crusts and larger air pockets.

These air pockets give artisan bread a holey interior, and they are the result of a long fermentation process which also contributes to the complex flavour artisan bread is known for. 

If you try to analyse the flavour profile of an artisan bread, you’ll notice a pleasant tang to it.

We might not grow up getting used to the taste of such bread, but you’ll love this one as much as we do! Enjoy a slice of this Cinnamon Nutmeg Raisin Bread with your favourite fruit jam, or simply toast it with some butter.

Baking Bread Without Kneading

If you have only baked bread that requires kneading, it might be surprising to discover that it’s actually possible to bake bread without kneading the dough.

But how is it possible? Isn’t kneading very important for developing gluten and creating the bread’s structure?

Surprisingly, kneading is not the only way to create a gluten network in bread dough! 

In no-knead bread, the long proofing time acts in place of kneading which allows the dough’s gluten-forming proteins to align.

No-knead bread has more water in the dough, which makes gluten molecules move and align themselves more easily. 

And just like kneading, this process will result in an elastic network that supports the bread’s structure.

Here’s an overview of what happens throughout the long fermentation (proofing) process: 

1. When you finish mixing all the ingredients, the dough looks lumpy, and gluten is not yet formed.
2. The naturally occurring enzymes in flour will break down the proteins, causing the dough to spread and lose cohesiveness. This happens for approximately 4 hours.
3. After 8 hours, the yeast starts the fermentation process and produces carbon dioxide. At this point, the action of carbon dioxide resembles kneading—it stretches the dough, which leads to the alignment of gluten proteins.
4. This process continues for the next few hours. The yeast will not be finished with leavening and “kneading” the dough until at least 12 hours of resting time, so don’t rush to bake it!  

The high water content in no-knead bread dough helps with the gluten formation, but it also makes it a bit challenging to work with. Make sure to coat your hands and working surface with lots of flour to counteract the dough’s stickiness!

Perfecting No-Knead Bread

Trying to create the best version of this no-knead bread was not a smooth journey. In fact, we went through nearly ten experiments! 

In each trial, we made some tweaks to the recipe to make it better than the previous one. The type of liquid, amount of yeast, and proofing time vary between each test loaf.

Since we used different combinations of ingredients and dough treatment, each of our trial bread loaves varied in flavour and texture.

Some did not turn out well—we made a loaf that was too gummy, and it failed to form a beautifully browned crust like how an artisan bread is supposed to be.

Another loaf was too crumbly, and we could not even manage to slice the bread properly.

In one trial where we used more yeast, it tasted unpleasantly sour.

These unexpected outcomes were slightly disheartening at first, but we knew that we’d eventually succeed. 

When we came close to the tenth trial, we finally baked a decent loaf. There was so much anticipation when we sliced into it. Our efforts paid off!

Although the crumb structure was not as good as we expected, this one was obviously way better than the failed trials. The crust was what we’re looking for; all that was left was just a little bit more tweaking to get the right crumb!

Finally, after many trials, we got the perfect loaf of no-knead bread that we were looking for—a crisp brown crust of the right thickness, along with a soft and slightly chewy interior that’s punctuated with bursts of sweetness from the raisins. 

If this is your first time baking bread, don’t be daunted! Just like baking other types of food, tackling your first artisan bread might seem scary. 

But, this No-Knead Cinnamon Raisin Bread recipe you’ll find below is very easy to follow, even if you’ve never tried baking anything with yeast.

Before you start, read through the tips we’ve rounded up that’ll definitely come in handy.

Important Things to Note when Baking Artisan Bread

1. Make sure you’re proofing the bread at room temperature, or a room that’s warm enough. The yeast won’t be able to work if the temperature is too low. You may leave it on your kitchen counter away from any air conditioner or direct heat. 
2. Do not worry about using too much flour to dust your hands and working surface. The dough is quite sticky, so dusting with enough flour will make it easier to work with.
3. Scoring the bread’s surface is not only for decorative purposes. Properly scoring your bread will ensure that it’ll rise in a good way, keeping it from bursting open at random spots.
4. It takes almost an hour to bake this bread, but don’t be tempted to open the oven door. Steam is needed to form the crust, and there will not be enough steam if the heat keeps escaping!

No-Knead Cinnamon Nutmeg Raisin Bread

Score the bread's surface quickly and at least 1-2 cm deep to ensure that it'll rise nicely.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl, whisk the bread flour, yeast, salt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and raisins together.
2. Add in milk and water, and stir the mixture until your dough forms a ball.
3. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and leave it on the counter for about 12–15 hours or more (no less than 12 hours as it needs sufficient time to grow).
4. After resting, your dough should have doubled in size. Dust a clean surface with some bread flour. 
5. With floured hands, scrape your dough out of the bowl and place it onto the floured surface. Fold it two times onto itself, like a book.
6. Shape your dough into a round ball, making it smooth on the bottom.
7. Transfer to a lined baking sheet and let rise for 1 hour and 45 mins–2 hours at room temperature covered with a floured tea towel/cling wrap. It will rise and grow until about double in size.
8. 15 minutes before your bread has finished proofing, preheat the oven to 200°C. Score the top of your proofed bread with a sharp knife before baking.
9. Bake at 200°C for approx. 50 minutes until the loaf is golden brown, dry, and hollow. To get a beautiful crisp crust, leave the oven door closed when baking. Only open the oven door to tent the loaf with foil if it is browning too quickly.
10. Let cool completely before slicing.

Storage: Best consumed on the same day as the bread doesn’t contain any chemicals or preservatives. Otherwise, store in an airtight container and consume within 48 hours. Toast overnight slices for best results.

Easy Artisan Bread for Beginners

Making this no-knead bread is much easier than it seems. By using the right ingredients and following the recipe accordingly, you’ll be one step closer to your first loaf of artisan bread. Once you get acquainted with the addictive flavour and texture of artisan bread, you won’t be able to stop at one slice!

Check out our tips on baking bread to get that perfect loaf. If you’re into soft breads with exciting flavour combinations, be sure to check out our bread baking kits!

Read Next: RECIPE: Soft & Fluffy Milk Bread Loaf

Share this post

Trying this recipe out? Make sure you hashtag #bakestarters on Instagram so we can see your wonderful creations!

2 Responses

Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.

Also in Recipes