Breakfast bread

This wonderful bread is soft and sweet and contains assorted seeds and nuts for extra flavour and nutrition.

• 375g (21/2 cups) plain flour
• 240g (1 1/2 cups) wholemeal plain flour
• 125g (3/4 cup) unground L.S.A. mix (linseed, sunflower & almonds, Mellow Yellow Products brand)
• 2 teaspoons (7g/1 sachet) dried yeast
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 500mls (2 cups) milk
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• Melted butter, for greasing and brushing
• Extra plain flour, for dusting
• 300g fresh dates, pitted, roughly chopped

1. Step 1

   Place the plain flour, wholemeal flour, the L.S.A, yeast, cinnamon and salt and in a large bowl and mix well to combine. Make a well in the centre.

2. Step 2

   Combine milk and golden syrup in a small saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until lukewarm. Add to the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to stir until combined and then use your hands to bring the dough together.

3. Step 3

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead firmly for 8-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

4. Step 4

   Brush a large bowl with the melted butter to grease. Place the dough into bowl and turn it over to lightly coat the dough surface with the butter. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and then place in a warm, draught-free place for 45-75 minutes or until doubled in size.

5. Step 5

   Preheat oven to 200°C. Brush a large baking tray with melted butter and dust with extra flour.

6. Step 6

   Punch down the dough with your fist. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead again for 2-3 minutes or until smooth and elastic and returned to its original size. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a 25 x 35cm rectangle about 1cm thick. Sprinkle the dates evenly over the dough. Starting from a short end, roll up the dough to enclose the dates and form a loaf.

7. Step 7

   Transfer the loaf to prepared tray and lightly brush surface with melted butter. Stand in a warm, draught-free place for 30-45 minutes or until risen in height by 2cm.

8. Step 8

   Place into preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown, cooked through and sounds hollow when tapped on the base.

9. Step 9

   Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool.

10. Step 10

    Serve fresh within 1 day of making or serve as toast within 2 days of making.

Note: This bread makes wonderful toast and is especially good served for breakfast spread with butter and golden syrup or honey. It contains a mixture of linseed, sunflower seed kernels and finely chopped almonds which can be bought as a packaged mix called unground L.S.A. from the health food section.