7 October 2015

Fruit loaf recipe and a giveaway

This year’s Adelaide Craft and Quilt Fair, November 5 - 8 at Adelaide Event and Exhibition Centre, will feature the latest trends including adult colouring-in, textile and wearable art, embroidery, knitting, paper craft, vintage fashion and a stunning array of quilts! I have two tickets for the Fair to give away. If you live in Adelaide and can go during November 5 - 8, make a comment below and I'll put all the names in a hat to choose. If you're one of the readers who can't comment, leave a post on the forum and I'll include your name in the draw.  FINISHED

A few people asked for the fruit bread recipe shown in Monday's post. It's from my Sunbeam bread maker manual, with a few minor changes.  I mix the dough in the bread maker, then bake in the oven.



INGREDIENTS
  • 375 mls water - depending on the weather and the flour, you may use more or less water.
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons room temperature butter
  • pinch salt
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk powder
  • 1 teaspoon bread improver - I put this in because it's a dense loaf and bread improver lightens it
  • 4 cups bread flour
  • 2 teaspoons yeast
  • 1 cup dried fruit
  • ½ cup chopped dried apricots - add the fruit 15 minutes before the end of the kneading process
Add ingredients in the order given in the above list. Turn your machine on to "dough", it will take about 90 minutes to mix and rise the first time.  Look at the dough as it starts mixing and if it needs more water, add it tablespoon by tablespoon. 

About 15 minutes before the end of the cycle, add the dried fruit to the dough.  When the cycle finishes, take the dough out, knead it a couple of times, then shape it and sit it in a warm place until it almost doubles in size. When the dough has risen, brush the top with beaten egg, slash the top a few times with a very sharp knife and put it in a pre heated oven at 200C. Ten minutes into the bake, turn the oven down to 180C.  This is a sweet loaf and it can burn easily. Check 20 minutes into the bake and if it looks too brown on the top, cover it with foil until it's finished baking. Depending on your oven, it will take 30 - 40 minutes to bake.

I serve it warm, with butter. The loaf will keep for two or three days in a plastic bag in the fridge.

I hope you enjoy it.

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15 comments

  1. We keep talking about making our own bread and my man wants to buy a bread maker. Do you think it is worth it? Do you have any recommendations (brands etc)?

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    1. I do think bread makers are worth their price. You'll save that money back in the first year. And if having a bread maker is the only thing keeping you from making bread, then you should get one. You'll get bread that you can make according to your own tastes and you'll know what goes into it. I'm on my second Sunbeam at the moment but I've heard Breville are good too.

      I never bake my bread in the breadmaker, I use it to make the dough and then I shape the loaf myself and bake it in the oven. If you are going to use the breadmaker to bake in, make sure you get one that you like the shape of - there are traditional loaves and tall loaves.

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    2. Hi Sharon,

      I have a Breville Custom Loaf Pro. It was an initial investment but it has paid of tenfold. I find that it is so easy to make (and gift) loaves of fresh bread - and my house smells amazing. It is super easy to use, and guarantees a great loaf. Whenever I have a dinner party my fresh bread is the first thing that guests head for - and I never have leftovers. Also the fold down paddle is a great feature.

      Hope this helps
      Genevieve

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  2. I've love the chance to win tickets to Adelaide Craft and Quilt Fair - looks like it's going to be a fun event. Thanks Rhonda for the chance :)

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  3. Thanks for sharing the recipe Rhonda. The loaf looks lovely.

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  4. The fair sound lovely. Since I'm what one would call "State Side" could be have a link to there page. Our community just had a quilt show, just over 160 of them.
    Coffee is on

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    Replies
    1. Hi Dora, sure, here is the link. If you look along the top, all the craft shows are listed there. You can click on each link to see the different shows.

      http://www.craftfair.com.au/wp/Adelaide/#sthash.J0iWwxeO.dpbs

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  5. It would be a treat to win tickets since a quilt that I quilted for a customer will be entered and I'd love to see it hanging:-) amidst all the others.

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  6. Hi Rhonda can you please tell me what bread improver is?

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    1. Kate, this is the one I use http://www.natures-glory.com/sub_organics_details.asp?ProductSID=6143&CatSID=9

      I don't use it in general baking but it does help heavy dense loaves. You could try adding a crushed Vitamin C tablet, a splash of vinegar or a teaspoon of cornflour.

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  7. Thank you Rhonda for sharing the recipe. I don't have a bread maker but I will adapt it accordingly. I very much like sourdough, so will also experiment with my starter.

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  8. I will be getting a bread maker too. I need to keep gluten and glutenfree homemade bread totally seperate, so the gluten will go in the breadmaker, the gluten free will be baked by hand. Pam

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  9. Hi Rhonda I would love the opportunity to go to the craft fair in Adelaide and would be pleased if my name could be added into your hat for a chance to win. Also, thank you for all your blog posts you are an inspiration. Love Emmax

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  10. I was happy to see this bread recipe today as this is next on my cooking list for the weekend. one of my boys enjoys fruit load slices in his school
    lunch box. I promised the boys I'd have a go at fruit scrolls with pink icing one day soon. I found my bread maker on a local bargain hunters group and picked it up for $10... I ended up buying a new tin for it as the one it had was a slow leaker. it's been great. really glad I decided to get one as I use it about every week for various recipes. enjoying reading the posts every few days and referring back over older topics. my focus this month is on bedroom because after 13 years my husband and I have decided to buy a new bedroom suite including a new mattress and new bed linen and pillows so I'm thinking about what as I find it hard to decide. the quilt cover I prefer to use on my bed I've had since 1994... and it's only just becoming thin... I jamie st like the colours and the pattern.

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  11. Thank you for sharing the recipe I haven't made a fruit loaf in ages might have to give that a try. I bought a bread maker ten years ago and it's still going strong. We had to replace the paddle a few years ago and the gears are sounding a bit creaky now but it still mixes fine! I haven't bought any bread products at all in that time although I must admit I make more loaves by hand these days as I have more time to do it :)

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