Fruit, Nut & Seed Soda Bread

I've been itching to create a fruit, nut and seed bread for such a long time! It's a step up from my porridge bread (which I still love), but with the addition of all of my favourite ingredients - seeds, nuts and dried fruit! Great with jam, butter, yoghurt, cheese or nut butter!

This bread is just divine - it's full of yummy ingredients that work well with sweet and savoury

This recipe took a bit of thinking about and a bit of playing around to get the right consistency! I have to say I'm thrilled with it. The star of the show is definitely the nuts, fruits and seeds. I was keen to include them all as I wanted a bread that wasn't too sweet or savoury. This bread has the best of both worlds. It has a soda bread base with the addition of natural yoghurt, so it's dense but soft. With traditional soda bread you are meant to use buttermilk, but I'm not a fan of buying ingredients that are hard to get hold of. I made my own buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to milk. It worked a treat!

Remember you can use whatever dried fruits and nuts you have at home, it will taste great whatever you use and you can tip the balance to more sweet or savoury if you like. A little tip - go to Lidl to buy your nuts and seeds - so much cheaper than the other big supermarkets!

Packed full of nuts, fruits and seeds

A sweet and savoury bread - to have anytime of the day!

Recipe (1 Loaf - about 28 slices)

450g spelt flour (you can use any flour but I like quite a nutty flavour)

50g porridge oats

160g seeds - I used 40g pumpkin, 40g sunflower, 40g sesame, 20g flaxseed, 20g chia

140g nuts - I used 50g walnuts (chopped), 90g pistachio kernels (chopped)

180g dried fruit - I used 100g dried figs (chopped), 80g dried dates

200ml natural yoghurt

250g skimmed milk (add a tbsp lemon juice) or use buttermilk

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp almond extract (optional)

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Method:

1. Start by making your own buttermilk which is so easy - just add 1 tbsp lemon juice to the skimmed milk and leave for 10 mins.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

3. Add the natural yoghurt, skimmed milk, honey and almond extract if using.

4. Mix quickly with a wooden spoon - try not to overmix.

5. It will be quite a sticky dough, so just add a bit more flour if you need to so you can handle it.

6. Line a large baking sheet with greaseproof paper and place your dough on there and shape into a round.

7. Using a sharp knife, make a deep cut into the dough in quarters.

8. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for about 45-50 minutes until risen and nice and brown.

9. Leave to cool.

10. I like to cut mine into quarters and freeze some so it stays fresh.

Nutrition (per portion with bo):Nutrition:

Nutrition:

Per slice: 147 cals

Fat: 5.5g

Carbs: 17.4g

Protein: 5.7g

Fibre: 1.7g

Sugar: 5g