Berry Bacon Bread-NYR-Y + update

1 package (13 ¾ oz.) hot roll mix
½ c. lukewarm water
2 eggs
2 T. instant minced onion
½ pound bacon, fried (or microwaved) until crisp, crumbled
2 c. fresh cranberries

Place yeast from hot roll mix into a large bowl. Stir in lukewarm water until yeast is dissolved. Stir in eggs, onion, and bacon. Stir in flour from hot roll mix. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Please cough into a bowl and grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk, about 1 hour.
Place dough on a floured surface and pat into a 9 inch square. Sprinkle cranberries on top of dough. Roll up dough jelly roll fashion. Place roll of dough seam side down into a greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise in warm place until double in bulk, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 375º for 35 to 40 minutes, or until richly browned. Properly baked, loaf will sound hollow when thumped. Remove loaf from pan at once; cool on its side on wire rack. Cool loaf thoroughly before cutting into thin slices. Serve spread with butter.

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I came across some old copies of The Workbasket magazines from the late 70's. My grandmother King had given me gift subscriptions for many years. It was interesting to see the address label change from "Miss Michelle Plue" to "Mrs. Gary Law" after I married Gary (09/24/77). These magazines featured directions for Knitting, Crochet, Tatting, and Sewing Projects as well as recipes. I did not realize I even still had a stack of these magazines packed away in a box. (This gives you a clue to the state of our basement!) This particular recipe came from a group of "Cranberry Holiday Creations" in the November 1977 issue and seemed to have an unusual combination of ingredients, so I had to give it a try.

The first slice I had seemed very tasty to me, but like all breads, the filling did not go to the edge, so the cranberries were not overwhelming. In later slices I found the cranberries just too tart and concentrated. I'm going to try making French Toast out of this bread to see if serving it with syrup, or even heated jellied cranberry sauce, will balance out the tartness of the berries. If I try this again, I believe I will use fewer berries and cook them with some sugar and perhaps orange peel, before rolling them up in the dough.

Reminder: NYR means this was a recipe tried in my “New Recipe Once a Week Resolution.” Yummy Rating: Y = so-so, YYYYY = fantastic!

Update 01/25/09: Made French Toast Saturday with this bread. Cut 4 slices - about 1/2 inch each. I beat 2 eggs, 2 T. milk, 2 tsp. Splenda, and a couple dashes of cinnamon together. Heated about 1 1/2 tsp. butter in non stick pan and cooked 2 slices of toast at a time, until browned on both sides. Served with maple syrup. The maple syrup did a lot to tone down the tartness of the cranberries and I think the browned egg mixture was a nice complement to the onion/bacon in the bread. I would give the French Toast a YY rating. I still have about one half of a loaf left, and I'm going to try making a bread pudding to serve along roasted chicken and oven roasted vegetables. Will let you know how this turns out.