Honeyed Wheaten Bread with Jumbled Nuts, Seeds and Fruit
- 60g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, plus extra for greasing
- 180g wholemeal flour
- 180g plain flour
- 30g porridge oats, plus extra for scattering on top
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1⁄4 tsp fine sea salt
- 40g mixed nuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
- 40g mixed seeds
- 80g mixed dried fruit, roughly chopped
- 60g runny honey
- 250g Greek yoghurt, crème fraîche or soured cream (or a mixture)
- 5 tbsp milk, or as much as needed
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/Gas mark 4. Grease a loaf tin roughly 23 x 13 x 7cm and line the long sides and base with one large sheet of baking paper that overhangs the sides.
In a large bowl, combine the flours, oats, bicarbonate of soda and salt by stirring with a fork. Rub the cubed butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the nuts, seeds and dried fruit and mix to evenly distribute – hands work best for this.
Mix the honey into the yoghurt, then stir into the dry mixture. Gradually add the milk, mixing with your hands between each addition, to make a sticky dough. Scrape the dough into the prepared tin and smooth the top with the back of a wet spoon, pushing it into the corners.
Scatter over a small handful of oats. Bake for 45–50 minutes, or until risen and golden, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift out onto a wire rack to cool, using the baking paper as handles.
Try …
Using leftover porridge instead of uncooked oats. Omit the 30g oats, reduce the yoghurt to 200g and stir in 60g cold porridge.
