I’ve been making savoury sourdough loaves for quite some time, but had never attempted anything sweet until this one, so I was especially pleased with how well it turned out. In fact it was a bit of a “gateway experience” because I now know it’s well worth attempting many other sweet options. I’ve written the “method” section below in diary form, to tell you what I did.

Makes: 1 large loaf, giving about 12 slices

Time: Initial mixing and kneading: 15 – 20 minutes. Knocking back and prep for second prove: 20 minutes. Preparing to bake: 10 – 12 minutes. Baking: 60 minutes. But all this is spread over two days.

Level: Nowhere near as difficult as you may have thought.

Need: Ideally a Dutch oven and a banneton, but these can be replaced by a casserole dish and a bowl. A stand mixer with a dough hook is very useful, but not essential provided you have strong arms for kneading.

Ingredients

250g active starter
300g strong white flour
100g strong wholemeal flour
5g salt
25g caster sugar
100ml tepid buttermilk (or milk)
70ml tepid water
30g butter, melted.
200g mixed dried fruit. (I used sultanas, raisins & dates)

Method

1. Day 1 morning – I took my starter out of fridge and left to come up to room temperature then fed it with 60ml water & 60g strong white flour.

2. Day 1 around 4pm – I mixed all the ingredients (except the dried fruit) in my stand mixer bowl and used the dough hook to knead it for about 8 minutes, then it was placed in a lightly oiled bowl and turned over with stretches for a few minutes. After this I left the bowl covered in the kitchen overnight.

3. Day 2 very early in the morning it had risen really well, so I decided to knock it back immediately, flatten it out on a lightly floured work surface and fold in the dried fruit. Once done I covered it in flour and placed it upside down in a well floured banneton, which I then covered with the large plastic bowl that I’d used to prove it. I then left it for a second prove.

NB It had risen much faster than usual, maybe because the temperature overnight was a little higher than normal for May in UK.

4. I expected the second prove to take about 5 or 6 hours, but less than four hours later it had risen again, really well.

5. I turned it out onto a piece of parchment paper which I used to lift the dough into a cold Dutch oven. Before doing this, I scored the dough with a razor blade.

6. I put the lid on the Dutch oven and placed it in our main oven, which I then turned on to its highest setting – fan 220°C*. I baked it for 50 minutes. When I removed the lid of the Dutch oven I noticed how dark the top of the loaf was, so I reduced the heat to fan 180°C and baked the loaf for a further 10 minutes with the lid removed from the Dutch oven.

*NB This is the “cold start” method that I always use for my sourdough loaves baked in a Dutch oven.

7. I tipped it out and left it on a wire rack to cool.

I wish you every success with your bread making. I hope you have a go at this one and enjoy making and eating a lovely loaf. If you want to see more of my bread recipes click this link.

Here are some quite different breads that you might want to try:

Gluten-free Soda Bread with Cheese & Onion