Fruitcake Bread

Well, I've been meaning to use up this can of mixed fruit peel that's been in my fridge for the past 3 months. Why did I buy it? Well... it's pretty much the age-old habit of buy it because it's being cleared by the supermarket because nobody wants to buy it... meaning that it's a great value! But, I couldn't think about what to do with it besides nibble at it piece by piece (hehehe... yeah, I have a very strong sweet-tooth). Finally, after 3 months of pondering (or being so stressed out with school that my mind just wasn't thinking straight), I remembered how much I use to love hot-cross buns. So, I decided to use a hot-cross bun recipe to make a loaf because who doesn't love a hot and fresh loaf of fruity bread in the early morning?

Fruitcake Bread
Yields 1 loaf and you still have a bit of dough left over for approximately 3-4 buns!

Ingredients
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp instant powdered milk
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 3/8 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup mixed fruit-peel
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 egg yolk

Method:
1. Put warm water, butter, skim milk powder, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, egg, egg white, flour, and yeast in bread maker and start on dough program.
2. When 5 minutes of kneading remain, add fruit-peel and cinnamon. Leave in machine until double.
3. Punch down on floured surface, cover, and let rest 10 minutes.
4. Shape into log, and place enough dough into a greased loaf pan. Whatever dough is left over can be shaped into little buns. Cover loaf and buns and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 35-40 mins)
5. Mix egg yolk and 2 tbsp water. Brush on top of loaf and buns.
6. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack.

Sadly, I didn't remember to place the fruit-peel in the machine when 5 minutes of kneading were left. I thought actually placed the mixed peel in the machine when 5 minutes of rising were left, so the peel didn't become very well incorporated into the dough. The result was a loaf that had speckles of fruit-peel along the edges of the loaf and buns. Other than that, I would say that the loaf was pretty much a success. Although I may have handled the dough too much after the first rise in the machine, causing the loaf to be a little less raised than I would have liked, the texture of the bread was very soft and delicate. The fruit-peel added a nice sweetness to a regular old white loaf, and the crust was perfectly crusted. The important thing to remember with this recipe is that you must grease the pan well... otherwise you'll end up with some of pieces of loaf getting stuck and simply ripping off because the bread is so delicate. I might attempt making this recipe again, but in the hot-cross bun form... that way I get to make those pretty little crosses on the top of some cute little buns :)