Name: Benoîton
Prep time: 3 h 55 min
Cook time: 37 min
Total time: 4 h 32 min
Yield: 16 pieces
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 75 g flakeds almonds; 380 g water; 100 g leaven; 200 g rye flour; 300 g plain white flour (French Type 65); 9 g fine (or table) salt; 10 g yeast; 300 g raisins; 50 g Pearl sugar

For 16 pieces, you will need:

1 75 g flakeds almonds
2 380 g water
3 100 g leaven
4 200 g rye flour
5 300 g plain white flour (French Type 65)
6 9 g fine (or table) salt
7 10 g yeast
8 300 g raisins
9 50 g Pearl sugar
Total weight: 1,425 grams

Times for this recipe

Preparation

2 hours 25 min.

Resting

1 hour 30 min.

Cooking

40 min.

All in all

4 hours 35 min.

Preparation 2 hours 25 min.

Resting 1 hour 30 min.

Cooking 40 min.

When should you start or finish this recipe?

If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time

To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe

Step 1 - ⌛ 7 min.

Put 75 g flakeds almonds in a non-stick frying pan on high and toast for 5 to 7 minutes. They should only just begin to colour.

Set aside.

You can also do this in the oven at 360°F (180°C): spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes.

Step 2

In bread-making, the water temperature is always important. It's not a fixed value, but related to 3 other temperatures: 1) the temperature of your flour, 2) the room temperature in your kitchen, and 3) the basic temperature of this recipe, which is 56-60°C.

You can calculate the temperature of the water for this recipe in one click, using this small calculator.

Step 3 - ⌛ 3 min.

Put into a mixer bowl: 380 g water at the correct temperature, 100 g leaven, 200 g rye flour, 300 g plain white flour (French Type 65), 9 g fine (or table) salt and 10 g yeast.

Step 4 - ⌛ 15 min.

Knead on slow speed for 12 minutes, adding 300 g raisins and the toasted almonds 2 minutes before the end of kneading.

Note: For the best way to knead, see: A few tips for effective kneading at home..

Step 5 - ⌛ 1 hour 30 min.

Gather the dough into a ball and transfer to a large, clean bowl.

Cover with a plastic sheet and leave to rest for about an hour and a half. It's pointage (starting).

Step 6 - ⌛ 3 min.

After this time, flatten out the dough by hand, or with a rolling pin, into a large rectangle about half an inch (a generous centimetre) thick. Scatter 50 g Pearl sugar over and press gently into the dough by hand or with the rollling pin.

Step 7 - ⌛ 2 min.

Cut the rectangle in half.

Step 8 - ⌛ 5 min.

Cut each half into rectangles about 1x4 inches (2x10 cm) and arrange these on a baking sheet.

Step 9 - ⌛ 2 hours

Cover with a plastic sheet and leave to rest for 2 hours.

Step 10 - ⌛ 30 min.

Preheat the oven to 460°F (240°C) and bake for about 30 minutes.

Note: As when baking any bread, you should ensure that the oven is filled with steam for the first 15 minutes of baking. This page shows you how; it really is the secret of golden-brown, crusty loaves..

Step 11

Leave to cook on a wire rack.

Remarks

You can vary the fruit content of your benoîton by using pistachios, cranberries, etc.

The name benoîton came no doubt from a nineteenth century play, La Famille Benoîton by Victorien Sardou, which portrayed a nouveau-riche bourgeois family. At the time, it was common to name patisseries after famous plays. Poires Belle-Hélène is another example.

Nutritional information

	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats	Calories	Energy
Per 100 g	5 g RDI=8 %	49 g RDI=19 %	4 g RDI=5 %	252 kcal RDI=13 %	1,056 kJ RDI=13 %
Per piece	5 g RDI=7 %	44 g RDI=17 %	3 g RDI=5 %	225 kcal RDI=11 %	940 kJ RDI=11 %
Whole recipe	77 g RDI=119 %	702 g RDI=265 %	53 g RDI=73 %	3,593 kcal RDI=180 %	15,044 kJ RDI=180 %