3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
½ teaspoon quick-rising yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
1½ cups warm filtered water (about 100 degrees Fahrenheit)
1 cup rough-chopped walnuts
1¼ cups raisins
In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, yeast and salt. Pour in warm water and mix well with a wooden spoon. The dough should be sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 3 hours, or until the dough has risen. It will have bubbles and still look a little soft and wet.
Add walnuts and raisins. Dip your hands into water (this will keep the dough from sticking to your fingers) and gently fold walnuts and raisins into dough until evenly distributed.
Generously flour the surface of a clean table. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to remove dough from bowl. The dough will still be very sticky.
Sprinkle more flour on the top of the dough, just enough to keep it from sticking to your fingers. Give the dough a couple more folds, forming it into a ball.
Place the ball of dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Do NOT use wax paper for this. Lift the parchment paper and dough and place in a 6-quart slow cooker. A taller slow cooker will result in a taller bread because slow-cooked breads do not rise in the same way as they would in an oven.
Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 190 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Check the temperature after 90 minutes if this is the first time you are making bread in your slow cooker. With some time, you'll learn how long it takes your particular slow cooker to bake a perfect loaf.
Slow cooker bread makes a soft outer layer. For a browned crust, simply toss it under the broiler for a few minutes. Remove when the crust is lightly browned to your liking.
Allow bread to cool before slicing.
