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IRISH SEED BREAD
Strong White flour
Often called ‘cake-bread’ for its sweet richness and flavouring of caraway seeds, this bread (made here with yeast) is delicious with a strong cup of tea, or to accompany a hearty stew.
Makes 1 medium loaf
- 500g Marriage’s Finest Strong White flour
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 20g unsalted butter
- 1 x 7g sachet easy-blend dried yeast OR 15g fresh yeast
- 1 large free-range egg, at room temperature, lightly beaten
- About 300ml lukewarm water
- ½ teaspoon caraway seeds (or to taste)
- 450g/1lb loaf tin (about 19 x 13 x 7cm), greased
Mix the flour with the salt, nutmeg and sugar. Rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine crumbs, then stir in the dried yeast (if using fresh yeast crumble it into a little of the lukewarm water and stir until smooth). Make a well in the mixture and add the egg and the lukewarm water (including the yeast liquid, if using fresh yeast). Mix well with your hand or the dough hook attachment of a large electric mixer, to make a smooth dough. If the dough seems dry and hard to work, add a little more water, but if it seems very sticky, work in a little extra flour.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead thoroughly by hand for 10 minutes until very smooth and elastic, or 5 minutes in the electric mixer. Work in the caraway seeds then return the dough to the bowl and cover with a snap-on lid or cling film and leave to rise in a slightly warm but not too hot spot until doubled in size – about 1 hour. Punch down the dough to deflate then knead gently for a few seconds then shape into a loaf to fit your tin. Put the dough into the tin then slip the tin into a large and clean plastic bag. Gently inflate the bag and tie closed. Leave to rise as before until doubled in size – 45 minutes to 1 hour. Meanwhile heat the oven to 220°C, 425°F, Gas Mark 7.
Remove the tin from the bag and bake in the heated oven for about 35 minutes until well-risen, an even golden brown and the turned-out loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Cool on a wire rack.
