Homemade Raisin Bread / Eggless Raisin Bread

This Homemade Raisin Bread is light, fluffy, and full of sweet raisins. This easy raisin bread is one of the most straightforward recipes. It is lightly sweetened and tastes excellent when toasted with butter or cheese spread!

This Easy Raisin Bread is eggless; it has a soft texture inside with a chewy crust, and the recipe comes together very quickly.

Jump to:

• About Homemade Raisin Bread
• Why You Will Love Homemade Raisin Bread
• Ingredients
• How To Make Homemade Raisin Bread
• Helpful Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions
• More Homemade Bread Recipes
• Recipe Card

About Homemade Raisin Bread

Once we start baking bread at home, it is always fun. From kneading dough to seeing it rise and having a wonderful loaf out of the oven, it is just heaven. For me, it works like magic, like a stressbuster.

If you want to start with basic white bread, begin with White Sandwich Bread. Or, you can also try easy Homemade French Bread or Artisan Bread (No Knead)
Once you are comfortable making basic bread, you start making different types of bread. I remember my first bread after white sandwich bread was raisin bread.

However, when I made this homemade raisin bread the first time, I did it the traditional way. First, I rolled the dough, spread raisins, folded the dough, and created a log, like cinnamon raisin bread.

But then I started skipping that step and adding raisins and all other ingredients together. And believe me, that makes this easy raisin bread a quick and straightforward recipe.

The homemade Raisin Bread recipe does not contain any eggs, but it is still light and airy. Sometimes, we think we cannot make certain types of bread vegetarian or eggless. But if we choose the other ingredients right, it is not rocket science. You can also check out my Eggless Pav (Dinner Rolls), which are light and fluffy. 

Ingredients

• Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour: I generally keep bread flour in my pantry as I use it often. The difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour is the amount of protein. Bread flour contains more protein, giving the bread a chewier texture. However, using all-purpose flour in bread making will not make any significant difference. So, you can use bread or all-purpose flour to make this bread.
• Yeast: I used active dry yeast to make this raisin bread, but you can also use instant yeast. With instant yeast, the dough rising time may be shorter than with active dry yeast.
• Water: I used water for proofing the yeast. The water should be warm but not too warm or hot. 
• Sugar: Sugar is a must as it increases the activity of yeast. This eggless homemade raisin bread is slightly sweeter than regular bread, so I added ¼ cup of sugar.
• Salt: Do not add salt to the yeast mixture; add it only with flour. 
• Milk: It makes the bread extra soft, rich, and flavorful.
• Butter: We can also add any neutral flavor oil instead of butter, but I highly recommend using butter. It gives a nice buttery flavor, and if you think about it, butter, bread, and raisins make a delicious combo.
• Add-ins: You can add a dash of ground cinnamon if you prefer. Also, you can use dried cranberries instead of raisins. Dried cranberries will add extra tanginess and sweetness to the bread.

How To Make Homemade Raisin Bread

Proofing The Yeast

• In a large mixing bowl, take sugar and warm water.
• Add yeast and mix everything lightly with a spoon or fork.
• Then, cover the bowl with a clean and dry kitchen towel and let it sit for 10 minutes.

• After 10 minutes, because yeast is active, the mixture will be frothy and bubbly.
• If the mixture is not foamy, the yeast is inactive. In that case, discard it and start all over.
• There could be various reasons why the mixture is not foamy. For example, the water could be hot, or the yeast may have expired.

Making And Proofing The Dough

• Add butter, milk, raisins, and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix well.
• Add flour gradually and keep mixing with a wooden spoon or spatula.
• First, add 2 cups of flour, then slowly add the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time.
• You may need 3 to 3 & ½ cups of flour, depending on the type of flour.

• The dough will come together but be very soft and sticky, as shown in the picture below.

• Take some flour onto a clean surface and place dough on it.

• Knead the dough with your palm and take some more flour if needed.
• Continue kneading the dough until it is soft but not sticky, smooth, and supple. 

• Lightly grease a large bowl and transfer the dough into it.
• Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel.
• And let the dough rise until double in size for about an hour to 1 & ½ hours.

• Depending on the kitchen’s temperature, the dough will double in size after 1 to 1 & ½ hours.

• Lightly punch down the dough to release the air.

Rolling And Proofing The Raisin Bread Log

• Grease a 9 X 5-inch loaf pan with oil.
• Roll the homemade raisin bread dough into a thick, large rectangle about 8 inches long, then roll it up and make a log.
• Place the log into a prepared loaf pan.

• Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.
• Let it rise until doubled and the dough is about 1 inch above the loaf pan for about an hour.
• The dough will double in size in an hour.

Baking The Homemade Raisin Bread

• Preheat the oven to 350° F.
• Bake the bread for 32-35 minutes until golden brown on top.
• Remove from the oven and immediately brush the top of the loaf with melted butter.
• If the bread starts browning too much on the top after 20-25 minutes, remove it from the oven and loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
• Place it back into the oven and continue baking for the remaining time.
• Let the bread cool completely before slicing.
• This bread will stay at room temperature for three days and be refrigerated to keep it longer.

More Homemade Bread Recipes

Recipe Card