Seasonal Recipe: Easy Apple Soda Bread.

Most people struggle with the tumble into autumn and winter and it’s easy to see why. Days can feel short. None of us enjoy getting up before the sun rises or arriving home from work in the dark. The temperature drops forcing us to explore outside less and to rush it when we do: adventures are hurried as we spend less of our time looking up and lingering; and much more time with our heads buried in scarves and hands thrust into pockets. And who can blame us!?

Dark mornings, and soggy weather aside, there are many joys to be found come this time of year, you might just have to look a little harder. While we love cooking and eating all year round, it’s definitely something we love to take more time over come the colder months. It’s natural to crave more hearty, warming and nourishing food at this time of year. More time spent inside also means there’s time to spend on longer recipes or indulging yourself in making something that maybe you’d usually pick up in your weekly food shop.

One recipe we come back to time and time again is home made soda bread. There’s a real joy in making home made bread. There are breads that you can take time over and really get into the process of, like sourdoughs or slower proved loaves. But if you don’t have a great deal of spare time but you’d love to have a go at a quick homemade loaf then soda bread is for you! This is an autumnal twist on an already very easy recipe. You can incorporate lots of different extras into soda breads but adding apple is a great shout and really adds a subtle, sweet flavour and makes the most of the seasonal British apples that are so readily available at the moment. Plus this bread takes little to no time to make and bake!

YOU WILL NEED…

175g of spelt or wholegrain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg, beaten

50ml of water

1 tsp baking powder

2 apples coarsely grated, skin on

100ml of natural yoghurt

TO MAKE…

1. Preheat your oven to 180C or Fan 160C. This is about Gas mark 4.

2. Sieve the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a big bowl. Add in the grated apples and give a good stir to incorporate.

3. in a jug, whisk together the egg, water and yoghurt. Add to the dry ingredients, gently folding in just enough to create a fairly firm dough and no more.

4. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and roughly shape into a loaf. Place the loaf on a lightly greased baking tray and pop a cross on the top.

5. Bake for forty minutes or until golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow with a light tap.

6. Wrap in a clean cloth after baking to ensure that the loaf stays moist and doesn’t dry out.

Your lovely Apple Soda bread will last fresh for forty-eight hours but is just as good sliced and frozen and popped in the toaster or warmed in the oven. This autumnal take on a classic soda bread is delicious warm with a little cinnamon butter (mix together 4 tablespoons of softened butter, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of sugar) or also makes a cracking cheese on toast with a strong cheddar and some wholegrain mustard. It’s the easiest recipe for such a comforting addition to your week.

Let us know if you give it a go or if you’ve got any other bread recipes you love to make! As always you can keep up to date with us over on FACEBOOK or INSTAGRAM and by signing up to our newsletter HERE.

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