I promised you earlier in the month that this bread would make an appearance and here it is, just making it into September.
As luck would have it I can tie this bread into my Great British Bake Off bake-along as last week they made enriched dough. To make this bread I took my standard sourdough bread recipe and add a few things in along the way, thereby making it ‘enriched’.
Sometimes I think I should waffle less and today I am going to do just that – just pictures and a recipe (and a few notes). After all, I am on holiday this week – hooray!
Notes:
This bread uses teff flour, which has a lovely malted taste. I have brown teff flour in my cupboard which is quite dark and has a stronger taste. White teff flour is also available, which needless to say is paler and milder.
I baked these in mini bundt cake pans, because they were originally planned as a yeasted cake (but it is definitely more bread than cake) and I wanted them to look more cake like. When I make it again I will either make in one large loaf pan or small mini loaf pans. There is no need for the fancy, slightly awkward shape that makes it difficult to toast.
Fresh yeast is available from health food shops and Sainsbury’s supermarket. I get mine from Sainsbury’s as it is considerably cheaper than health food shops. Just go to the bakery counter in store and ask for some fresh yeast (I promise they won’t look at you as if you are mad, they are used to it). It is available in 3 quantities – 50g, 200g and 800g. 200g will set you back a grand total of 60p – bargain. I keep mine in an air-tight container in the fridge. It should last a few months this way. Alternatively I have read somewhere that you can freeze it. I haven’t tried this so I don’t know how successful it may be.
Instructions on how I make my sourdough starter are available in this post.
Spiced Fruit Bread
Ingredients:
For the sponge:
- 200g rice sourdough starter
- 100g rice flour
- 100g teff flour, either brown or white
- 50g buckwheat flour
- 250g warm water, either boiled and cooled or filtered
For the dough:
- 8g fresh yeast, or 3g dried
- 50g potato flour
- 25g ground arrowroot, or tapioca flour
- 40g flax meal
- 1 large egg
- 15g dark muscovado sugar
- 15g honey
- 6g sea salt
- 3 tbsp thick cream, either clotted cream or extra thick cream
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 50g raisins
- 25g dried cranberries
- butter and linseeds for greasing and lining the tin.
Method:
- Start by making the sponge – place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together well. Cover with cling-film and leave in a warm place for 4 hours to start to bubble.
- Once the sponge has been fermenting for long enough, make the dough. Start by removing a spoonful of the sponge mixture and mixing it with the fresh yeast in a small bowl. Set aside while you get on with the rest of the dough.
- Add the flours, flax meal, egg, sugar, honey, salt, cream and spices to the sponge and beat well with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Add the raisins and cranberries and fold in. Finally add in the fresh yeast mixture that you set aside and mix in well.
- Grease a 2lb loaf tin with butter and then coat the sides with the linseeds (pour some in and shake them around the tin until all the sides and the base are coated). This will prevent the bread from sticking to the tin. If you would rather, line the tin with non-stick baking paper.
- Pour the dough into the prepared tin and leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours to rise. It is ready to be baked when it has risen to the top of the tin and looks puffy.
- Pre-heat the oven to 220 Celsius / 200 fan / 430 Fahrenheit. Carefully – and I mean carefully, any knocks at this stage will cause it to deflate – transfer the bread to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180 Celsius / 160 fan / 350 Fahrenheit and bake for a further 45 minutes. The loaf is cooked when you turn it out of the tin and it is firmish to the touch when you squeeze the sides.
- Place on a wire rack to cool.
- This bread is best enjoyed warm – either from the oven, reheated in the oven or toasted. Can be stored wrapped tightly in foil at room temperature for 2 -3 days, any longer and it needs to be frozen. Once completely cold slice before placing in a freezer bag and sealing it as tightly as you can. Toast from frozen.
© The Pink Rose Bakery 2014
Adapted from a recipe from River Cottage.
The Pink Rose Bakery 
Oh wow I love your blog!! I was looking for some gluten-free recipes for a few friends…and I think I will try a few of your recipes!! 🙂
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Hello! So glad you found me. Let me know how you get on with the recipes you try 🙂
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This is such an interesting mix of flours – I’ve never baked with teff but your fruit bread looks delicious, will have to try!
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Thanks! Would love to know how you get on if you do give it a go.
I hadn’t heard of teff flour until a few months ago, but I think it may be one of my favourites now, because of its flavour.
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Yum, this looks perfect for autumn afternoon tea 🙂 I actually have a bag of teff flour in the cupboard…I bought it to make injera but, ahem, haven’t quite got round to it yet…
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I had to google injera – looks interesting. Kind of like a teff pancake!
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I’ve tried everywhere, but I can’t get fresh yeast here… It may be something to do with the climate. The dried stuff works pretty well, I find, but you have to use it up pretty quickly, because it gets stale faster than in a cool climate.
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I find that odd because it keeps pretty well in the fridge.
Mum and dad use dried yeast in their bread and keep it in the fridge too – lasts ages. Comes in a little pot.
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