To get into the Great British Bake Off mood for this evening and because I was inspired by bread week last week I thought I would share with you the recipe Rob and I tried for the first time this weekend. It is from the Great British Bake Off book and given that bread is not something I have ever tried before it turned out rather fine! I have to say though that Rob did most of the hard work and I am enjoying eating it!
We didn’t have apricots or hazelnuts in the flat so we changed ours to raisins and pecans and it still seemed to work well.
Wholemeal Honeyed Hazelnut and Apricot Loaf
Ingredients:
- 500g stoneground wholemeal flour
- 7g dried yeast
- 5g salt
- 100g ready to eat dried apricots, chopped
- 70g hazelnuts, toasted and halved
- 300ml milk, lukewarm
- 1 tbsp honey
Method:
- Mix the flour with the yeast, apricots, hazelnuts and 5 grams of salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre.
- Pour the milk and honey into the well, then gradually work the flour into the milk to make a soft but not sticky dough. If the dough is dry and difficult to work, add a little extra milk, if the dough feels sticky and won’t hold its shape, work in a little more flour.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead thoroughly for 10 minutes until it feels very elastic (the dough can also be mixed and kneaded in a large food mixer – use the dough hook, and low speed, knead for 5 minutes only).
- Return the dough to the bowl, cover tightly or slip the bowl into a large plastic bag.
- Leave in a warm spot until doubled in size – about an hour.
- Punch down the dough to deflate then divide into 3 equal portions. Roll each portion into a sausage shape about 40cm long. Plait the 3 strands together, tuck the ends under neatly then transfer the plait to a lightly greased baking tray. Slip the tray into a large plastic bag and leave to rise until almost doubled in size, about 40 to 60 minutes – do not let the loaf get too big as it will lose definition. Meanwhile heat the oven to 200C/fan180C/ gas 6.
- Bake the loaf for about 30 minutes, until an even golden brown, and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Cool on a wire rack. Store in a cool bread bin. Best eaten within 4 days or toasted.
I have to say is particularly delicious toasted with some butter and a mug of black tea!
(As you can see I have eaten half the loaf already!)
Melissa, August 2014