Sourdough fruit bread with poppy seeds

A while back, I experimented with variations to my regular overnight sourdough bread recipe.  One loaf was carrot, onion and poppy seed bread and the other was this sourdough fruit bread with poppy seeds.  It was very satisfying to have fancy home made bread in the house.

It is a great luxury to have home made fruit bread.  I have tried sourdough fruit bread once before and it was quite rustic looking.  This time I added a bit more liquid which worked better.  And it was a good opportunity to use up some of the dried fruit in the pantry.

I had some chocolate and macadamia spread which was brilliant on the toast.  Around the same time I was making strawberry and rhubarb jam for the school fete.  One of the jars did not seal so we had to eat it.  Things I do!  It was great on the bread but I also loved eating the fruit bread toasted with some margarine.

More breads with dried fruit on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Malted loaf with chocolate, figs and brazil nuts (v)
Overnight sourdough fruit bread (v)
Potato boston bun (v)
Pumpernickel rolls with currants (v)
Rhubarb and raspberry no knead focaccia (v)  
Vegan sourdough hot cross buns with marzipan (v) 
Walnut and fig bread (v)

Sourdough fruit bread with poppy seeds
Adapted from Green Gourmet Giraffe

200g sourdough starter
275g water
9g salt
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp mixed spice
50g each cranberries, apricots and prunes, chopped
50g walnuts, chopped
10g (1 tbsp) poppyseeds
400g plain white flour
100g wholemeal flour
maize flour to dust surface

A few hours before making the loaf, take sourdough starter out of the fridge and feed it so it gets nice and bubbly. 

About an hour before going to bed (or first thing in the morning) mix everything together.  It is easiest to mix everything except flour first and then add flour.  Use hands to mix if required.  Set aside covered with a tea towel for half an hour.  Knead in the bowl for about 1 minute.  Cover with greased clingwrap and leave at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.

Scrape dough out onto a lightly floured board.  Very gently without punching the air out, fold the dough in three.  Shape into a loaves.  Place on a floured surface and cover with the lightly greased clingwrap.  (Maize flour is great here.)  Set aside to rise for 30 minutes.  While the loaves rise, preheat oven to 240 C, with casserole dishes heating if you are using them.

Slash the loaves and put in the heated casserole dishes with lids on (or on a tray or in a tin).  Bake for 20 minutes with lid on.  Remove lid and bake another 20 minutes.  Then reduce oven heat to 180 C and return to oven for another 10 minutes to make sure the crust is crispy and golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing.

* NOTES: For more extensive notes on this method, go to my post on overnight sourdough bread.  If you can't find golden syrup, you can use an alternative sweetner such as sugar or maple syrup.  You can use other dried fruit or nuts in the loaf.  I used what I had about.

On the stereo:
Thursday's Fortune: Club Hoy

This post is part of the Vegan Month of Food (Vegan MoFo) in November 2016.  Go to my Vegan MoFo list for more of my 2016 Vegan MoFo posts. 

Week 1 is Treat Yourself.