Ingredients
2 teaspoons dried active baking yeast
175ml warm milk
1 large egg
75g caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
75g unsalted butter, softened
350g bread flour
50g currants
50g sultanas
50g red glace cherries, quartered
175g diced mixed citrus peel
200g marzipan
1 heaped teaspoon icing sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Toasted flaked almonds for sprinkling on top
Method
In a bowl, dissolve yeast in milk. Let stand for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the egg, caster sugar, salt, butter, and 3/4 of the bread flour and beat well. Slowly add the remaining flour, stirring well after each addition.
When the dough has begun to pull together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead in the currants, sultanas, dried cherries and mixed peel. Continue kneading until smooth.
Oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
Grease a baking tray. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the marzipan into a rope and place it in the centre of the dough. Fold the dough over to cover it, pinch the seams together to seal.
Place the loaf on the prepared baking tray. Cover with a damp tea-towel and let rise for about 40 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180C° / Gas mark 4.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 150C° / Gas mark 2 and bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes.
Allow loaf to cool on a wire cooling rack. Dust the cooled loaf with icing sugar, sprinkle with cinnamon and finish with toasted flaked almonds.
Products used
Home Made Traditional Stoneware 29cm Mixing Bowl
Master Class Professional Non-Stick Hard Anodised 42cm Baking Tray
