So this was my first time 'cutting in butter' for bread (ingredients, sugar)

[MSPLove]

You know what I mean. Crumbling hard butter into flour until it's a cornmeal texture, as opposed to bringing the butter to room temp first?

Well, I did that for this "Cherry Raisin Loaf" thing I made. At the end, I went to cut into it and it just crumbled. It didn't hold as a piece of bread at all. It was just crumbs.
I honestly don't think I did anything wrong, because I followed it to the letter, and it ended up a "stiff batter" at the end, just as the recipe suggested it would. And I cooked it the right amount of time.

In all fairness, the bread IS still warm. heheh
Is it imperative for bread to cool completely if you "cut the butter in" as opposed to blending?

I've never had bread do that before. And cutting the butter was the only thing I did that was out of the ordinary.

[OpenD]

It's hard to tell without more details... was this a yeast bread, or baking powder?... did you get all the quantities right? did you use the right kind of flour? did you leave anything out? did you warm the batter to room temperature?... but in general when the crumb (the inside of a loaf) doesn't hold together it's because the gluten didn't develop properly. So if everything else checks out, that's what I would look into. Sometimes adding a tablespoon full of lemon juice or vinegar can help that.

Good luck

[rural chick]

It sounds like you might have used too much flour if it's a yeast bread. Too much flour will make it crumble or if you allowed it to rise more than double that might have made it crumble. And, perhaps you didn't knead it enough to let the gluten develop. Perhaps next time use bread flour too....it's finer and will give more texture. Using a serated knife or an electric knife to cut cooled bread will reduce the amount of crumbles. I agree that we really need more defined information about the type of bread you made.

Cutting in butter adds layers of flakiness to the item you are making. I don't cut in butter when I make bread (except for my angel biscuits which use yeast, salt, baking powder and baking soda as leavenings)

[MSPLove]

No, it isn't a yeast bread. Thank you for the wisdom, though.
And actually, the question answered itself. As it cooled, yes, I was able to cut it into slices that held together. LOL

Just have patience....

As for ingredients, I don't have them in front of me, but it called for:

2 cups sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1/2 c. buttermilk, 2 egg yolks beaten, pinch of salt, some sugar, 1 cup marachino cherries, 1/2 cup raisins... that's about the gist of it. Give or take a couple other things I'm forgetting to mention.

It's a recipe I got out of a 1978 edition of my hometown newspaper, submitted by some lady.

I'll remember that about the flakiness, and about the lemon juice/vinegar trick. Thanks again.