Spiced fruit loaf

I love this bread! Perfect for breakfast, fresh or toasted with butter or jam.  You can use any dried fruit or seeds you like but apricot and cranberries are my favourite!

Ingredients:

For the loaf:

• 180g strong white bread flour
• 180g plain flour
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 1tsp gingerbread spice (or mix of dried ginger, ground cloves and mixed spice)
• 7g fast- action dried yeast (about 2tsp)
• 1tbsp sugar
• 1tsp salt
• 1 egg 
• 150-170 ml warm water
• 200g dried cranberries
• 150g dried apricots-  roughly chopped
• zest of 1 orange

Additionally:

• 1 egg for brushing

Put all dry ingredients in a large bowl, make a hole in the middle and pour in the water and one egg. Mix well.  Add dried fruit and mix again. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead well until smooth.  The dough should be wet- but not too sticky.  You can add couple of table spoons of water if needed.

Leave it to rise for 40-60 minutes until doubled in size.

Knead again quickly, then shape into a loaf and place in a floured tin.

Leave to rise again for about 20-30 minutes.

Brush with egg wash and bake in pre-heated oven at 190 C, for 35-45 minutes. Bread is ready when golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap it from the bottom.

Take out the oven and leave to cool.

Enjoy!

Hazelnut and marzipan loaf

Soft, sweet loaf with a swirl of hazelnut, cinnamon and marzipan filling.  It is so delicious and easy.  You can prepare your dough the night before and leave in the fridge, to bake a fresh loaf for breakfast!


Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 160ml milk
• 2 tbsp sugar
• pinch of salt 
• 7g fast-action dried yeast
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cup plain flour
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 100g ground hazelnuts
• 100g ground almonds
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 100ml milk
• 25g unsalted butter
• 50g marzipan paste
• 40g light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp Amaretto
• 1 tbsp dark rum
• pinch of salt

Additionally:

• 1 egg, lightly beaten (for brushing before baking)
• sugar crystals

To make the dough mix all of the 'dough' ingredients in a large bowl, then knead on a floured surface until smooth and not sticky. 

Leave the dough to rise for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.  Roll out into a large square, the dough should be about 1 cm thick.  

When the dough is well risen and rolled out into a square, begin to prepare your filling.  Place ground nuts and almonds and spices in a bowl.  In a medium saucepan warm up the milk, butter, marzipan, sugar and salt, when the mixture is smooth and well combined, take off the heat and leave to cool. 

When the mixture has cooled slightly add Amaretto, rum and honey, then pour over dry mixture and stir.

Roll out into a rectangle, the dough should be about 1cm thick, then spread the filling on top, leaving 2cm edge all around.

Roll into a swiss-roll, then cut lenghtways in half, starting from about 5cm from the top.

Braid the two strands around each other- make sure the cut side is always upwards.

Tuck the end underneath the loaf.






Leave the loaf to rise again, for about 20 minutes, then brush with an egg wash (lightly beaten egg), sprinkle with sugar crystals.  

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 30-35 minutes.

Enjoy!

Recipe inspired by this website.

Mini chocolate loaf

Soft and buttery mini loaf with melted chocolate.  Great for breakfast of with a cup of tea.  Smell of butter and chocolate when you are baking it is just so amazing- you can't wait to eat it.  Bread it best served warm, when the chocolate is melted and dough soft.  The recipe comes form 'The bread book', I only twisted it a little.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 4tbsp soft butter (make sure you use good quality, unsalted butter)
• 1tsp salt
• 4tbsp sugar
• 8g easy bake yeast (2tsp)
• 4eggs
• 6tbsp luke-warm milk

For the filling:

• 100g dark chocolate
• 70-80g milk chocolate

•  icing sugar for dusting

Mix flour with salt, sugar and yeast.  Add butter and make crumble- like mixture.  Add slightly beaten eggs and milk.  

Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until smooth.  Place the dough in a bowl and cover, leave in a warm place to rise for 1,5h.

Divide the dough into 12 parts and roll each one out to make a rectangle.  Divide your chocolate into 12 portions (dark and milk chocolate) and place both in the middle of each rectangle.  

Shape a mini loaf and place in prepared mini loaf tin (buttered and floured).  The recipe shouold make 12.

Leave to rise for further 40 minutes, then bake at 180 C for about 15mins until golden brown and baked through.  

Leave to cool a little in the tins, then take out and dust with icing sugar.  

Enjoy!