Pecan Raisin Bread

Three months to the wedding. The binder Debbie made has a section for each month leading up to October and I have been working through July checklist this week. Final headcount. Menu confirmation with the church kitchen women. Music. Tyler family friend, a man named Earl who plays guitar, is doing the music for the ceremony. He played at Marcus wedding two years ago. He knows all the right hymns.

I cannot believe I am planning a wedding. I know I have been saying that since December but every time a new layer of it becomes real I cannot believe it again. I am planning a wedding with a man who loves me and a foster grandmother who is walking me down the aisle and a mother who is coming if everything holds.

Debbie and I went to the florist this week. I do not have strong flower opinions. Debbie does. The florist was a woman named Georgia who had very short patience for customers without opinions, and she and Debbie found each other perfectly balanced, Debbie with opinions and Georgia with the mechanism to execute them. I watched them negotiate flowers for forty minutes and agreed to everything. The result is going to be beautiful. I trust that without needing to understand every step.

Made Gloria fried chicken Sunday. The real production. Got the grease to the right temperature and did not rush a single piece. Destiny watched from the step stool and asked every question in sequence. I answered all of them. The questions and the answers are a kind of recipe too. Pass them down carefully so they get there right.

After that Sunday with Destiny on the step stool — her watching every move, me answering every question — I kept thinking about what it means to hand something down right. The Gloria fried chicken is one kind of passing down, but this pecan raisin bread is another: slow, patient, the kind of recipe that asks you to pay attention and rewards you for it. I made it a few days later and felt that same purposeful quiet I had standing at the stove, doing nothing fast on purpose.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 10 min | Servings: 12 slices

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted

Instructions

Preheat and prepare. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and lightly dust with flour, tapping out any excess.
Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until evenly mixed.
Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs lightly, then whisk in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract until combined.
Bring it together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until the flour is moistened — do not overmix. The batter should look a little rough and thick.
Fold in the add-ins. Gently fold in the raisins and toasted pecans, distributing them evenly through the batter without overworking it.
Transfer and bake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top lightly. Bake for 42–47 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is a deep golden brown.
Cool before slicing. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing. The inside needs time to set so slices hold together cleanly.

Nutrition (per serving)

Pecan Raisin Bread — The Questions and the Answers Are a Recipe Too