Fruit & Nut Plaited Loaf. There is something special about yeast cookery - if only the smell. Beautiful bread at a fraction of the supermarket cost.
Put the flour, salt, currants, sultanas, sugar and chopped pistachios into a mixing machine bowl and lightly mix together.
In a jug, add the dried yeast to the tepid milk and whisk together. Then add the melted butter to the liquid.
Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and whisk vigourously for 2 minutes. This acts as part of the kneading process.
Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and allow to prove in a warm area for 1 hour.
15 minutes before the end of the proving process, preheat your oven to 180ºC, Gas mark 6.
After proving, remove the dough from the bowl and split into 3 equal amounts. Take each amount of dough and knead with the palm of your hand for 1 minute and finish by stretching the dough into 40cm "sausage lengths".
Put the 3 lengths of dough onto a baking tray and join at one end. Now 'left over right' each length of dough and again join at the end.
Cover the plaited dough with the clean cloth and again allow to prove in a warm place for 30 minutes. The dough should at least double in size.
Place the baking tray onto the middle shelf of the oven for 20 minutes. When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wired tray. Glaze the loaf whilst it is still hot using diluted golden syrup or treacle.
Ingredients
Directions
Put the flour, salt, currants, sultanas, sugar and chopped pistachios into a mixing machine bowl and lightly mix together.
In a jug, add the dried yeast to the tepid milk and whisk together. Then add the melted butter to the liquid.
Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and whisk vigourously for 2 minutes. This acts as part of the kneading process.
Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and allow to prove in a warm area for 1 hour.
15 minutes before the end of the proving process, preheat your oven to 180ºC, Gas mark 6.
After proving, remove the dough from the bowl and split into 3 equal amounts. Take each amount of dough and knead with the palm of your hand for 1 minute and finish by stretching the dough into 40cm "sausage lengths".
Put the 3 lengths of dough onto a baking tray and join at one end. Now 'left over right' each length of dough and again join at the end.
Cover the plaited dough with the clean cloth and again allow to prove in a warm place for 30 minutes. The dough should at least double in size.
Place the baking tray onto the middle shelf of the oven for 20 minutes. When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wired tray. Glaze the loaf whilst it is still hot using diluted golden syrup or treacle.