Japanese Raisin Bread with Auntie Mindi

I thought this bread was sweet, dense, and moist! Maybe it wasn't super fluffy, like Mindi was expecting, but still very, very good.

First you have to make a paste:

1 C water
1/4 C flour

Mix and cook over medium heat until custard like

420 g bread flour
70 g sugar
5 g salt
1 pack yeast (about 7 g)

1 large egg 45 g
98 g milk
45 g maple syrup
120 g paste at room temperature

45 g unsalted butter
80 g raisins

Mix dry ingredients then add the wet. Mix on low speed in an upright until shiny and firm.

Add butter in small cubes, mix on high for 10 minutes. (We actually did it for like...2 hours or something...until it passed the window test. Take a bit of dough and stretch it out, if it doesn't break, but instead stretches so that you can see a little bit through the dough then it's ready.)

Allow it to rise for 40 min or until doubled. Roll out into 2 loaves, then rise 1 hour.

Brush with egg, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.