This is breakfast or afternoon tea at its homemade best. What could be more inviting than the sweet, spicy aroma of toasted fruit loaf?
If you feel like doubling up the recipe, you can freeze the spare loaf. I sometimes slice it before freezing so I can toast a few slices from frozen and keep the rest of the loaf fresh. Not that it lasts long in our house...
Fruit Bread
150g/5 oz/1 cup wholemeal flour
350g/12 oz/2⅓ cups strong plain flour
1 tsp instant dried yeast
2 tsp salt
3 tsp mixed spice
150g/5 oz/¾ cup sultanas
340ml/11 fl oz/1⅓ cups water
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
You could try adding different spices, such as cinnamon and ginger but the mixed spice works well. A variety of dried fruit can be used in this recipe too: try using raisins and candied peel, for example, always totalling 150g of fruit.
Add the water a little at a time, using your hand to mix the ingredients until you have a sticky dough.
Leave the dough to rise until it has doubled in size. If you want to speed the process up, leave the dough somewhere warm.
Knead the dough on a floured surface and place it into a greased bread pan.
Leave the loaf to rise again until it has reached the top of the pan.
Bake at 230oC/450F for five minutes then 180oC/360F for 30 minutes. When properly cooked, the loaf will sound hollow if you knock on it.
Leave the loaf to cool for half an hour or so before cutting.
Want this recipe in a more convenient format? It's available in my ebook, available via the link in the sidebar.
Hi. Can i replace the wholemeal flour with white flour? Thanks
ReplyDeleteHello! Thanks for your question.
DeleteYes, absolutely. You can use any combination of flour, totalling 500g. White would work nicely.
THank you! It turned out awesome=D
DeleteBrilliant! I love this recipe - especially toasted with butter (do I always say that?!) Anyway, I'm really pleased to know it worked well for you.
DeleteI'd like to thank you for this recipe! I've been searching for ages for an easy but tasty spiced fruit loaf. This came out beautifully first time out! Thanks :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's so good to know!! Thank you for your comment. I'm delighted :)
Deletethanks for the recipe but i managed to use allspice instead of mixed spice tasted fine after a few beers but like dental surgery in the morning, just having another go using the correct stuff :)
DeleteOops! Better luck next time!
DeleteMark 2 was perfect cheers
DeleteGreat! That's what I like to hear!
DeleteHi - is this really all plain flour and not strong bread flour?
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
Su I did make mine with plain but either will do nicely. Enjoy :)
DeleteThanks Rachel - I used strong as that is all I have in but it worked out well! Great to find a vegan version of fruit bread, and very simple too :)
DeleteBrilliant! I do love this recipe! Thanks for reporting back Su!
DeleteHi, this sounds great, am looking forward to giving it a try - one question though, does the water have to be warm to activate the yeast? Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteSarah yeast activates at temperatures as low as 4oC so even cold will work but warmer is nicer for your hands and will speed things up a little bit. Enjoy!
DeleteGreat, thanks! :)
DeleteHi. Wow, this bread tastes fantastic. Thank you. Used cinnamon and ginger instead of mixed spice because didn't have any at home but it was still delicious. Unfortunately, my daughter is not keen on the sultanas or any other fruit. So just wondered could I make it without adding any fruit altogether please? Should I then change some of the measurements?
ReplyDeleteThank you
Yes, certainly you can leave out the fruit. The only change that might be needed as a result is to reduce the water slightly because there won't be any dried fruit to absorb it but that depends on the flour you use and the humidity in your locality too so you will probably find it's ok just omitting the fruit. Glad you like it :)
DeleteHow long do you knead it for?
ReplyDeleteNo more than 10 mins, Helen, or just as long as you've got.
DeleteI made it , it was delicious, everyone loved it, it didn't last long.
ReplyDeleteI think it was extra nice because it had 3tsp of mixed spice in, lovely toasted with real butter, will be making it again.
That's great Helen! It's one of my favourites too!
DeleteAmazing. First time of making today. It's not really cooled yet and half has gone already (eaten by my 11 year old and her mates). I can see this being a regular feature in our house. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt's very moreish as my grandma used to say!
DeleteMy hubby has been on about making him a fruit loaf for ages, and came across your recipe today, I'll be giving it a go this weekend, I'll let you know how I get on 😊
ReplyDeleteOoh I think he'll love it! Hope so :)
DeleteHow would i change this to gluten free
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, I don't know. What about substituting some gluten free flour? Though that would make the texture quite different. You could ask for advice on the forum.
DeleteHi, would it still work if I replaced the plain flour with wholemeal flour?
ReplyDeleteYes it would. You can substitute in any wheat flour though you may need to adjust the amount of water as wholemeal tends to absorb more than plain.
Delete