Recipes

Buttermilk, Cheddar and Chive Bread

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on March 15 2017 at 11:56

If you fancy baking something easy for the family this weekend try this delicious savoury bread from Claire Thomson's just-published National Trust Family Cookbook.

Claire writes: I enjoy the incremental hike of a bread dough made with yeast, but with alchemy on your side a loaf can easily get to the table in under an hour. The trio of bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and egg works wonders in this recipe. Mixed with the dry ingredients, they elevate the loaf as it bakes. Eat hot from the oven with salted butter or pack for a picnic or lunch.

Makes a 900g loaf

300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

80g Cheddar cheese, grated

Small bunch of chives, chopped

40g butter

225ml buttermilk

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 200°C (190°C fan). Line a 900g loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

Put the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cheese and chives in a large mixing bowl.

Melt the butter and add it to a jug with the buttermilk, egg and mustard. Give the mix a good whisk.

Swiftly add the wet mix to the dry ingredients and combine with a fork. Do not over-mix the dough – it should be a cohesive, sticky mass in well under a minute. It shouldn’t need any shaping so just fit it snugly into the prepared tin.

Dust the top of the loaf with a little flour and bake for 40–45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out. Serve warm or leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

From the National Trust Family Cookbook by Claire Thomson, published by National Trust Books. Photo © Jill Mead.

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