Serve this hearty loaf with homemade soup or a good bit of Roquefort or stilton and a lovely crisp apple. After a couple of days toast slices and spread with fresh goat’s cheese and a drizzle of honey.
INGREDIENTS
450g wholemeal flour (or I often use 200g rye flour and 250g plain flour)
50g porridge oats
50g walnuts, chopped
100g pitted dates, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
450ml natural yogurt
1 tbsp honey
butter, melted, for brushing
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4 and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Mix together the flour, oats, walnuts, dates, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
Pour in the yogurt and honey. Working quickly, mix everything together with your hands to form a sticky dough (it helps if you wet your hands to stop the dough from sticking to you). Turn out on to the lined baking sheet and form into a round. Use a sharp knife to mark the bread into quarters, cutting deeply.
Place in the oven and cook for 50 minutes, until a hard, golden crust has formed. Remove from the oven and use a pastry brush to cover with the melted butter. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
