Fig And Raisin Bread Food

FIG AND RAISIN BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar to activate yeast. Add bread flour; sprinkle salt on top. Pour in raisins and figs; mix well.
• Knead dough for about 10 minutes. Place in a large glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 3 to 4 hours.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Pick up the side of the dough that's farthest from you and fold it inward, about 3/4 of the way across. Fold the last quarter of the dough all the way back over the far side, creating batard, or torpedo, shape. Press down on the seam with the side of your palm to seal it.
• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Sprinkle some cornmeal over the dough and cover loosely; let proof for 45 minutes. Sprinkle more cornmeal onto a baking sheet; flip dough onto the sheet so the seam side faces up. Use a scoring tool or serrated knife to cut a few slashes into the top of the dough.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden brown and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 20 minutes. Let the loaf cool for at least 30 minutes, as it will continue to cook when it comes out of the oven.

FIG AND RAISIN BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Stir together figs, raisins and brandy in a medium bowl; let stand for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Generously butter an 8-cup souffle dish or casserole dish with straight sides. Spread remaining butter onto bread slices. Cut into 1-inch cubes and transfer to prepared dish. Stir together sugar, eggs and egg yolk in a large bowl; whisk in cream, milk, lemon juice, lemon peel and vanilla. Stir in fruit, then stir mixture into bread cubes; let stand for 5 minutes. Set dish in a large baking pan and add hot water to come 1-inch up the sides of dish. Bake for 1 3/4 hours or until custard is set in the center, tenting with foil if top browns too quickly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if desired. Makes 8 servings.

MAPLE WALNUT AND FIG BREAD

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put the diced figs in a medium bowl and add the warm water. Let soak until softened.
• Whisk the unbleached flour, cake flour, oats, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Put the maple syrup, milk, eggs, egg yolks, and canola oil in a medium bowl and stir with the whisk to combine. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring with a spoon just until all the flour is moistened. This should be a wet batter, because the oats absorb a lot of the liquid during baking.
• Fold the walnuts and figs into the batter (the figs do not need to be drained). Divide the batter evenly between two oiled 9- by 5-inch loaf pans. Bake for about 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (If your oven bakes unevenly, rotate the pans from left to right and front to back about halfway through the baking time.)
• Remove the pans from the oven and use a pastry brush to glaze the tops of the loaves with maple syrup. Set them on a rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Turn the loaves out of the pans and set them on the rack to cool completely before serving. Wrap any leftovers tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature. They may also be frozen, wrapped first in aluminum foil and then in plastic wrap or a heavy-duty freezer bag.

FIG AND FENNEL BREAD

Steps:

• Mix 1 1/4 cups warm water, sugar, and yeast in small bowl. Let stand until mixture bubbles, about 10 minutes. Combine bread flour, 3/4 cup figs, rye flour, fennel seeds, and salt in large bowl of heavy-duty mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix using lowest speed; gradually add yeast mixture, mixing until all flour has been incorporated (or to mix by hand, stir vigorously with wooden spoon until dough comes together). Replace paddle with dough hook and knead until smooth and elastic (or to knead by hand, transfer dough to floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes). Place dough in oiled bowl; turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel and let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Turn dough out onto work surface and knead gently until deflated. Knead in remaining 3/4 cup figs. Cut dough in half; shape each piece into 12-inch-long loaf. Brush rimmed baking sheet with oil; transfer loaves to sheet, spacing apart. Cover with plastic, then kitchen towel; let rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 35 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake bread until crust is golden and loaves sound hollow when tapped, about 45 minutes. Cool bread on rack.

BREAD PUDDING WITH APPLE, RAISINS AND FIGS

Steps:

• Combine raisins, figs and Marsala in small bowl. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 8-cup soufflé dish. Spread 1 side of each bread slice generously with butter. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes. Transfer to prepared dish. Mix sugar, eggs and egg yolk in large bowl. Whisk in cream and next 4 ingredients. Stir in apple, raisins and figs with Marsala. Pour over bread and stir to combine. Let stand 5 minutes. Set soufflé dish in large baking pan. Add enough hot water to large pan to come 1 inch up sides of soufflé dish. Bake until custard is set and top is golden and puffed slightly in center, approximately 1 3/4 hours. Serve warm.