This is a loaf that gets made again and again in this house. Ingredients wise it’s not too different from the hot cross buns or the spiced fruit buns that I have posted about before. I think, though, that this loaf is perhaps a little quicker to make as you add marmalade and so there is no need to zest and squeeze fruit. There is also something very satisfying about having a loaf that you can keep going back to and cutting a bit more off. It is lovely when it’s still vaguely warm from the oven, spread with butter, but it’s just as nice toasted the next day for breakfast ( or mid morning, or lunch, or all three).
The recipe is an adaptation of the Raisin Bread recipe in The River Cottage Family Cookbook (ISBN 0 340 82636 3). You can use any combination of dried fruit that you like or have available as long as it totals 150g.
500g strong white bread flour
1 tsp mixed spice
7g easy action yeast
2 scant teaspoons fine salt
40g cranberries
40g currants
40g dried blueberries
30g sultanas
1 egg
125 ml warm water
125ml warm milk ( I tend to use just boiled water on top of the cold milk and that gets the temperature about right, you want it hand hot)
2 tbsp marmalade
For the glaze:
1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp water
(Or you could glaze with a couple of tablespoons of warmed honey)
Method
If you have a freestanding mixer then all you do is put all of the ingredients into the bowl and using the dough hook mix on speed 2 for two minutes. Turn it out of the bowl and manhandle into a ball. Place back in the bowl and cover with a large plastic bag for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours until it has doubled in size.
If you are mixing by hand, then put the flour, yeast, dried fruit, mixed spice and salt into a bowl. Measure the milk and water in a jug and beat in the egg. Add the liquid and the marmalade to the flour and using a flat knife such as a pallette knife, begin to mix together. When it is all combined, tip it out onto a lightly floured worktop and begin to knead. To do this you hold half the dough down with one fist and stretch the other half away from you with the heel of your other hand. Fold the dough back onto itself, turn and repeat the process for about ten minutes or until your arms fall off, whichever is the soonest. Make it into a ball shape and place into a bowl and cover with a large plastic bag until doubled in size.
Grease a loaf tin with butter. Take off the plastic bag and gently press the air out of the dough using your fingertips. Lift the dough out of the bowl and shape into a log shape by stretching and folding. Be gentle though. Place the dough into the loaf tin and cover again for 20-30 minutes until it has risen by about half its size again.
Place in preheated oven at 220°c, gas mark 7 or the Roasting Oven of the Aga for about twenty – thirty minutes until golden and sounds hollow when turned out and tapped on its base. Take the loaf out of its tin and place on a wire rack.
Just before the end of the cooking time, put the sugar and water for the glaze in a small pan over a gentle heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and then remove from the heat. Brush the glaze over the loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven and is sitting on the wire rack.
Allow to cool before taking your first slice.
Nothing comforts better than a slice of fresh from the oven fruit bread. Looks really tasty ;0)
Ah thank you Chele.
Looks gorgeous especially with that lovely glossy crust.
Thanks you Choclette. That crust really makes the loaf, it’s lovely having the contrast of the soft bread with the sugary crust.
Comfort on a plate with butter spread over the top – throw in a cup of tea and I will be feeling all warm and fuzzy.
🙂 Mandy
A cup of tea is absolutely necessary.
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This is my kind of bread, soft and high and glossy and fruit-studded. No wonder it gets made again and again and again in your home. thanks for sharing this recipe, lovely!
You could not pay money to buy this, how lovely does that look? I dont want my dinner now, just slices and slices of this lovely creation…
Ah thank you Hampshire Cook.
You home made fruit loaf is a delight to look at.
D often likes having croissants, I am more of a fruit loaf girl, so must have a go at making this one of these weekend.
Thank you Mangocheeks and I hope D will try it too – we may yet convert him 🙂
Your fruit bread looks so festive & absolutely appetizing too!
MMMMMMMMMMMM,…!!!
Does it matter if you use fast action yeast and just wack it in the oven from the off?
Hi David,
Fast action yeast would be just fine to use, but you will need to allow it to prove before you cook it or it will be as flat as a pancake. This is more of a bread than a cake. Hope you try it, it’s worth the wait. Kath
So how long do you think i should leave it for then Kath
Thanks btw 🙂
Hi David,
If your kitchen is warm, then the first proving in a bowl should take about an hour. Then you will need to knock the air out gently, shape it, place it in a buttered tin and cover again and leave again for 2o mins or until it has almost doubled in size again and then put it into the preheated oven. If your kitchen is cool then the proving will take longer.
Hope it works well for you.
Kath
Made this today. Came out astoundingly well, the whole house smells fruity and spicy! Can’t wait to try a piece!
Here, I took a picture! I didn’t put the sugar glaze on, though, as I hate how it sticks to my fingers.
http://i.imgur.com/rtbuNyt.jpg
Ooh Haunted Blood, that loaf looks good and I love the way that it fills the house with that fruity spicy scent too. I haven’t made this for ages. Something that needs to change. You have inspired me.
Great recipe I make my own bread but never have been successful with fruit bread up until I found your recipe turned out great taste great to many thanks .
Thank Amyj I am very pleased that you have had success with it. I love this fruit bread recipe. I must make it again, perhaps this week.
Made this today, didn’t have any mamalade so used bit of maple syrup,took out 50g of white flour & substituted it with wholemeal, only been making my own bread for a week & this is my fav loaf so far, will be making this a lot, went down really well, thank you.
What size loaf/bread pan are you using?
My loaf tin measures 12cm by 22cm. I hope this helps.
Thank you. Mine is almost the same, so I know the loaf should fit in it.
No sugar?
The method forgets to mention when to include the fruit
Hi Maggie, the marmalade replaces the sugar in this recipe. If you want to replace the marmalade with sugar then I would suggest 50g of caster sugar instead. Apologies for not including the dried fruit in the list for the hand method and thank you for drawing my attention to this. I add it with the rest of the ingredients at the start. However, if you would prefer to knead a smooth dough you can add them after you have done most of the kneading. To do this I would flatten the dough into a rectangle and sprinkle the fruit over. Gather the dough back into a ball and knead for a minute or two to spread the fruit through the dough. Let me know how you get on.
Just wanted to say that I’ve now made this umpteen times with different fruit/spice/flour variations and it’s a fab recipe base, thank you!
Thank you for letting me know Emily. I am really pleased to hear that you love it. I love this one too.
Lovely recipe and I won the homemade bread by hand category at our local Horticultural Show with this loaf! Will make it always.
Oh Marilyn, congratulations! I am so glad to hear this. It is a lovely loaf.
Just made this can’t leave it be,lovely toasted with butter ,marmalade,just wondering what’s the best way to store without going too dry .i intend making several thanks in abvace
It’s one of my favourites. I wrap all of my bread in a clean cloth or cotton bag. That way the loaf stays fresh without going mouldy. You can freeze it once cooked too. It takes a while to thaw a whole loaf so I recommend slicing it and wrapping how ever many slices you think you will eat each time. That way you can toast from frozen too. Enjoy!
Made this today – despite following instructions to the letter (with fresh yeast) the time in the oven (25min) left the loaf raw dough in the middle? We tried to slice it and toast it but it was inedible much to my daughters upset.
Apologies for the late reply. I am sorry to hear that you didn’t have success with this loaf. Please try it again as it really is good. Every oven is different so next time give it a bit longer. It should feel fairly light and sound hollow when tapped. You can also use a probe thermometer to check the internal temperature of the bread. If it reaches 90 degrees centigrade and it looks and feels baked then is is done. I have edited the post to advise that you leave to cool completely before cutting into it. I have learned a lot more about bread making since I published the post and I know now that you need to leave bread to cool completely as this finishes the cooking process. If you slice into it warm it will be a bit doughy.
The first time I made this loaf it was perfect, it proved well, rose beautifully during cooking, and tasted scrummy. Alas since then 2 attempts have failed dismally, the dough isn’t proving well and the finished loaf is stodgy. The only thing that is different is that I’m using a different marmalade (finshed the jar I used in the first loaf!). Any ideas please?
I am sorry I have only just seen this comment. I am not sure what is going wrong for you. Are you using the same yeast? Is the yeast still in date? Has it been open in the cupboard for a long time? Other than that, the marmalade may be a lot higher in sugar than your last jar and this will slow the yeast down. Maybe reduce the amount of marmalade that you use and see if that helps. Let me know how you get on and apologies again for the delay in replying.
Absolutely delicious loaf.Made 2 in 3 days.