Can you hear me now? Can you hear me from the depths of your BlackBerry bramble? The weekend is nigh, so I’d like to propose a toast for the next two days: Here’s to shifting gears, changing scenery and taking things real S-L-O-W.   

Italian Walnut-Raisin Whole-Wheat Bread

In fact, every Friday in this space, I’ll lead the charge, inviting you to consider a weekend of slow food, the culinary equivalent of taking time to smell the roses. For most of us, the Monday through Friday grind is more like a crazy obstacle course, with a never-ending race to the finish line. As a result, supper gets the short shrift, and you know the rest of this story. An hour of cooking time is considered an eternity during the workweek.

Instead of the 30-minute main, Fridays will be dedicated to dishes that call for a gentler, slower rhythm and a loosening of the collar. We’ll braise a stew, simmer a ragu, frost a cake and knead some dough.  We may even invite friends to collaborate and then share the fruits of our combined efforts. We’ll take our time smelling, chewing and tasting.  Monday will come soon enough; now let’s enjoy the weekend and fire up the stove!

To that end, our first project is a terrific whole-wheat raisin bread that I’ve been enjoying for years.  Seasoned with olive oil, honey and walnuts, the dough is tender and loving when kneading yet yields a hearty crumb that can hold up as a sandwich or as breakfast toast.  Thanks to the moisture from the raisins, the bread stales gracefully and will keep for about four days.

Carve out about five hours of time for this; the first rise takes at least two hours (which allows you to do other stuff around the house), followed by an additional hour of post raisin-and-nut filling proofing time.

If for some reason, you only want to  make one loaf, you may half the amounts below without worry. My recommendation: Given the time investment, make the full batch and either freeze for later or share a loaf with a friend. Keep me posted with your own bread adventures in the comments area below.

Italian Walnut-Raisin Whole-Wheat Bread
Adapted from "The Bread Bible" by Beth Hensperger

Ingredients
2 1⁄2 cups warm water (85-100 degrees)
2 tablespoons (2 envelopes) active dry yeast
pinch light brown sugar or 1 teaspoon honey
1⁄2 cup  olive oil
1⁄4 cup honey
1 tablespoon salt
4 cups fine- grind whole-wheat flour, preferably stone ground
1 1⁄2 -1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour (Cook’s note: I’ve substituted white wheat flour with good results)
1 ½-2 cups (10 ounces)  dark raisins, plumped in hot water for about one hour and drained on towels (varying amounts depending on your raisin preference)
Scant 2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
Optional: 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons wheat germ, for lining baking sheet (Cook’s note: You could substitute coarsely ground polenta) 

 
In a small bowl, pour in 1⁄2 cup of the warm water. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over the surface of the water. Stir to dissolve and let stand at room temperature until foamy, until 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl (or in the work bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), combine remaining 2 cups warm water, olive oil, honey, salt and 2 cups of whole-wheat flour. Add yeast mixture. Beat vigorously until smooth, about one minute. Add remaining whole-wheat flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Add all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl is formed. Switch to a wooden spoon when necessary if making by hand.

Turn dough out onto a very lightly floured work surface and knead about six minutes, until soft and springy yet resilient to the touch, dusting with flour only one tablespoon at a time as needed to prevent sticking. Dough should retain a smooth, soft quality, with some tackiness under the surface, yet still hold its shape. Do not add too much flour, or loaf will be too dry and hard to work.

Place dough in a greased deep bowl or container. Turn once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap (Cook’s note: I also cover the plastic-wrapped bowl with a kitchen towel.) Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, at least two hours.

Grease or parchment-line a baking sheet. Sprinkle whole-wheat flour and wheat bran on the baking sheet.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface without punching it down. Lightly pat it into a large oval and sprinkle even with half the drained raisins and half the nuts. If using cinnamon, sprinkle half of it here. Press nuts and fruit into the dough and roll dough up. Pat dough into an oval again and sprinkle it evenly with remaining raisins and walnuts (and cinnamon, if using). Press in and fold dough in half, sealing ends.

With a dough cutter, divide dough into two or three equal portions. Shape into two tight right round loaves or two baguettes about 14 inches long. Gently pull surface taut from the bottom.

Place loaves on prepared pans. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 45 minutes-one hour.

Twenty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a serrated knife, slash the loaves quickly with two parallel lines and one intersecting line no more than 1⁄4 inch deep.

Place baking sheet in oven and bake until loaves are brown, crusty and sound hollow when tapped with your finger, 35-40 minutes for round loaves, 25-30 minutes for baguettes.

Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before slicing.