Lincolnshire Plum Bread: A Fabulous Festive Fruit Bread and Random Recipe
Lincolnshire Plum Bread:
A Fabulous Festive Fruit Bread and Random Recipe
Lincolnshire Plum Bread: A Fabulous Festive Fruit Bread and Random Recipe
One of the comments I see lots of new bloggers saying over and over again, is how do they get noticed and generate comments as well as engage with the rest of the blogging community on their blogs; well, I felt just the same when I started last year – I plugged away everyday, writing and sharing recipes with lots of photos, and I received the sum token of NO comments with traffic peaking at about 20 to 30 visits a day! It’s demoralising and enough to stop anyone writing – but, I didn’t stop, I carried on doing what I love best, writing, taking photos and creating (as well as sharing) delicious recipes, it became like a daily diary for me, which is why I still tend to post every day even now. I became isolated in my little “blogging world” and only wrote for me, which, is just fine too of course. But, if you DO want to engage in the food blogging world and become well-known, then you can’t just sit in your “ivory tower” as I did for the first few months, lamenting the lack of comments and feeling unloved andunnoticed, you have to GO out there and ENGAGE with other bloggers too! It’s simple when you think about it, who is going to notice you, no matter how good you may be, when there are THOUSANDS of already well established and popular blogs out there? Rhetorical question I know, but a valid one nevertheless.
My Random Recipe book this month was: England’s Heritage Food and Cooking Book
So, I started to read more blogs, and I discovered lots of new and interesting ones, as well as some lovely people – they then started to “notice” me, and all of a sudden my comments page was filling up daily, plus my traffic increased!One of the other things that I noticed,afterI left the confines of my own little world, were Blogging Challenges; food and recipe events (usually run monthly) hosted by other food bloggers, events where you could join in and share your recipes and thoughts. One of the FIRST challenges I discovered was Random Recipes, hosted and run by the Dashing Dom over at Belleau Kitchen, so I JUMPED right in with both feet and joined up! The rest is history, as they say, and I still enter his challenge every month, as it remains one of myfavourites, along with my own two challenges ofcourse– Tea Time Treats and Herbs on Saturday. I am digressing from the matter in hand I know, but the point I am making is this, ifyouwant to be noticed then JOIN IN with the rest of the community! And so back to today, and my random recipe,Lincolnshire Plum Bread,which is my entry to Dom’s Random Recipes #22 Random Birthday Number challenge for November.
Lincolnshire Plum Bread: A Fabulous Festive Fruit Bread and Random Recipe
Dom asked us to refer to our birthday date as the number we should use to randomly to pick our book – my fingers didn’t have to do much walking along my bookcase before I came upon my random book, as it was number five, mybirthdayis the 5th of May, so number five it was, which, wasEngland’s Heritage Food and Cooking Book, and a favourite book of mine, so I was very pleased! Opening the page randomly fell on page 232, which revealed a recipe I had been planning to make for the last two to three months,Lincolnshire Plum Bread;curiouslyenough,the recipe originates from Lincolnshire, where Dom and the Viking live! Kismet!
Lincolnshire Plum Bread: A Fabulous Festive Fruit Bread and Random Recipe
When it came to following the recipe, I must admit to going a little “off piste” as I wanted to try out a recipe that I found on a scrap of paper, that was hidden in an old cookbook that I bought from a second-hand book shop; so, I combined the two recipes and the result was FOUR luscious fruited loaves, one for now and three forChristmas, as I popped the remaining three loaves into the freezer! This recipe has been claimed as my own now, as I was DELIGHTED with the results of my mix-and-match recipe techniques, and the three remaining loaves will come in handy for the festive tea time table, as well as gifts too.
Lincolnshire Plum Bread: A Fabulous Festive Fruit Bread and Random Recipe
Lincolnshire Plum Breadis traditionally baked for Christmas in Lincolnshire, although you will see it all year round in Bakeries throughout the region. It is a delicious when served warm with butter, or with a slice of cheese, similar to the Yorkshire way of serving Christmas Cake. Served today as a breakfast bread, or with tea, this regional speciality probably dates back many centuries, the clue being the use of the word plum to describe the dried fruits used in the product. Just as with plum pudding or plum cake, the plums mentioned in this recipe alludes to the dried fruit used in the bread, namely currants, raisins and sultanas. Whatever the history behind this fruited bread, all I know is that isgorgeous, andI love the slightly heavyconsistencyas well as the spice scented crumb, richly studded with fruit and peel. Think brioche, but heavier and with spice and fruit, and you have an idea of what this sweet bread is like. The recipe I am sharing below is my own concoction, but I waspunctiliousin my random selection of the recipe, so I hope Dom approves! That’s all for now, do call back later for more random musings, recipes and other lovely stuff I have to share with you! Happy Thanksgiving to all my chums across the pond, and see you all later, Karen
Lincolnshire Plum Bread: A Fabulous Festive Fruit Bread and Random Recipe
Lincolnshire Plum Bread
Print recipe
| Serves | 4 x Loaves |
| Prep time | 4 hours |
| Cook time | 1 hour |
| Total time | 5 hours |
| Allergy | Egg, Milk, Wheat |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Bread, Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Freezable, Serve Cold |
| Occasion | Casual Party, Christmas, Formal Party, Halloween, Thanksgiving |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
This fabulous fruited loaf is traditionally baked for Christmas in Lincolnshire, although you will see it all year round in Bakeries throughout the region. It is a delicious when served warm with butter, or with a slice of cheese, similar to the Yorkshire way of serving Christmas Cake. Served today as a breakfast bread, or with tea, this regional speciality probably dates back many centuries, the clue being the use of the word plum to describe the dried fruits used in the product. Just as with plum pudding or plum cake, the plums mentioned in this recipe alludes to the dried fruit used in the bread, namely currants, raisins and sultanas.
Ingredients
- 110 grams (4 oz) lard or white vegetable fat (I used Trex)
- 110 grams (4 oz) butter
- 900 grams (2 lb) strong white bread flour
- 25 grams (1 oz) yeast (or 1 x 7g packet of fast action dried yeast)
- 350 grams (12 oz) soft brown sugar (or a mixture of white and brown sugar)
- 900 grams (2lb) mixed dried fruit and peel (I used Sainsbury's mixed dried fruit and peel)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 teaspoons mixed spice (or 1 teaspoon of allspice and 1 teaspoon of mixed spice)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- milk to mix
Note
This fabulous fruited loaf is traditionally baked for Christmas in Lincolnshire, although you will see it all year round in Bakeries throughout the region. It is a delicious when served warm with butter, or with a slice of cheese, similar to the Yorkshire way of serving Christmas Cake. Served today as a breakfast bread, or with tea, this regional speciality probably dates back many centuries, the clue being the use of the word plum to describe the dried fruits used in the product. Just as with plum pudding or plum cake, the plums mentioned in this recipe alludes to the dried fruit used in the bread, namely currants, raisins and sultanas.
Directions
| Step 1 | Rub the fats into the flour and add in the salt and ground spices. |
| Step 2 | If using fresh yeast, mix the yeast with a little water and sugar and allow it to bubble and "work", it will be frothy when it is ready to use. |
| Step 3 | Add the dried mixed fruit (and peel) along with the sugar to the flour mixture. Then add the yeast mixture (or the packet of dried yeast if using), eggs and a little milk and mix into a soft dough. |
| Step 4 | Knead the mixture well, for at least 10 to 15 minutes and then allow it to rise for up to three hours in a warm place, covered with a tea towel or an oiled plastic bag. (Or shower cap) |
| Step 5 | Grease 4 x 450g (1lb) loaf tins and divide the mixture equally between them, then leave the dough to rise in a warm place, covered, until they have almost doubled in size. |
| Step 6 | Bake the loaves in a preheated oven at 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 for 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on your oven, it can vary. |
| Step 7 | The loaves are cooked when they are well risen, light brown and they sound hollow when tapped underneath. Allow them to cool slightly in the tins, before removing them to a wire rack, allow to cool completely and then store them in an airtight container, or wrap them in cling film and foil and freeze them. |
| Step 8 | Slice and serve warm with butter, or a slice of cheese is also traditional to serve with slices of this Lincolnshire Plum Bread, similar to a slice of Christmas Cake. |
Lincolnshire Plum Bread: A Fabulous Festive Fruit Bread and Random Recipe
Lincolnshire Plum Bread: A Fabulous Festive Fruit Bread and Random Recipe
Lincoln Cathedral
As this is bread, I am also entering it into Bake Your Own Bread, a fabulous monthly challenge, which is being hosted by Heather from Girlichef and Connie from My Discovery of Bread this month!
Plus, Laura’s theme for Calendar Cakes for November is BREAD, so I am entering this into her Calendar Cakes challenge this month!
I am entering this British Classic into the Best of British – sponsored by New World Appliances and hosted by the delectable Fiona over at London Unattached!
What is yourfavouriteyeast bread?
Do you make breads as well as cakes for Christmas?
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