Cornish Saffron Bread
Source of Recipe
the web
List of Ingredients
Milk - 300 ml (10 fl oz)
Saffron strands - ½ tsp
Unbleached white bread flour - 400g (14 oz)
Fresh yeast - 25g (1 oz)
Ground almonds - 50g (2 oz)
Grated nutmeg - ½ tsp
Ground cinnamon - ½ tsp
Caster sugar - 50g (2 oz)
Salt - ½ tsp
Butter - 75g (3 oz), softened
Sultanas - 50g (2 oz)
Currants - 50g (2 oz)
GLAZE:
Milk - 2 tbsp
Caster sugar - 1 tbsp
Recipe
Lightly grease two 900g (2 lb) loaf tins. Heat half the milk until almost boiling.
Place the saffron strands in a small heatproof bowl and pour over the milk. Stir gently, then leave to infuse for 30 minutes.
Heat the remaining milk in the same pan until it is just lukewarm.
Place 50g (2 oz) of the flour in a small bowl, crumble in the yeast and stir in the lukewarm milk. Mix well, then leave for about 15 minutes until the yeast starts to ferment.
Mix the remaining flour, ground almonds, spices, sugar and salt together in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the saffron infusion, yeast mixture and softened butter to the centre of the flour and mix to a very soft dough.
Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with lightly oiled clear film and leave to rise, in a warm place, for 1½-2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.
Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface, knock back and knead in the sultanas and currants. Divide in two and shape into two loaves. Place in the prepared tins. Cover with oiled clear film and leave to rise, in a warm place, for 1½ hours, or until the dough reaches the top of the tins.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220 °C / 425 °F / Gas 7. Bake the loaves for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 190 °C / 375 °F / Gas 5 and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
While the loaves are baking, make the glaze. Heat the milk and sugar in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. As soon as the loaves come out of the oven, brush them with the glaze, leave in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool.
Makes two 900g (2 lb) loaves
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