Mandarin & Poppy Seed Loaf
I like to make this bread in the evening to wind down and de-stress. Kneading the dough for 10 minutes may sound like a long time but it’s very therapeutic to do at the end of the day, and those 10 minutes will go faster than you think! This recipe uses half the mandarin segments from a standard 300g (or thereabouts) sized tin. You can keep the remaining half of the fruit in an airtight container in the fridge to use another day.
Makes 1 small loaf
1⁄2 x 300g tin mandarin segments in juice and the juice from the whole tin 300g plain flour, plus extra to knead the dough a 7g sachet of fast-acting dried yeast 1 tablespoon poppy seeds oil to grease the bowl and loaf tin optional: extra flour to top the loaf
Drain the mandarin segments and reserve the juice in a measuring cup. Chop the segments into 1cm pieces. (I put them in a mixing bowl and attack with kitchen scissors, rather than messing about slipping all over a work surface.) Add the flour, yeast and poppy seeds to the bowl and combine.
Add lukewarm water to the reserved mandarin juice to make up 160ml of liquid. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the mandarin water gradually, working the mixture in with a wooden spoon. Continue until you have a slightly sticky dough. Lightly flour your work surface, and tip the dough on to it. knead and stretch the dough for about 10 minutes.
Lightly oil the inside of the bowl, put the dough back into it, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise until doubled in size. This takes about half an hour, but the time varies depending on the temperature of the room, etc.
When the dough has risen, knock the air out by tipping it back on to a lightly floured work surface and gently shaping into a rugby ball shape. Lightly oil a 1lb loaf tin (approximately 17 x 7 x 6cm), then lovingly place your rugby ball of goodness into it, pop the tea towel back on top and leave for another half an hour. This process is called proving.
A little before the end of the proving time, put on the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7 to preheat. Score the top of the loaf, sprinkle over some optional extra flour on the top for a rustic look and pop the tin into the preheated oven for 30 minutes. When it’s done the loaf should sound hollow on the bottom when tapped.
Remove the tin from the oven, tip out the loaf and allow to cool on a wire rack. Then slice and eat!
Tips: This loaf will keep for 3 days in an airtight container or for a month if frozen. I wrap mine in cling film once it has cooled and it’s still absolutely fresh and delicious the day after. Shape the dough into 12 small balls instead of one loaf and pop the balls into lightly oiled muffin tins to make scones. Adjust the cooking time accordingly, depending on the size of the muffin tins – around 12 to 15 minutes should be fine.
‘Mandarin and Poppy Seed Loaf’ from A Girl Called Jack by Jack Monroe. Available to buy now.
Twitter: @MsJackMonroe Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/agirlcalledjack
Categories: Blog, BREADS, Recipes & Food, Vegan Recipes
Sounds lovely, must try it 🙂
I need to put it down and walk away, i’m absently halfway through it! Not blowing my own trumpet or anything, but it’s utterly delicious. Can also be made into rolls, by breaking into six pieces at the first ‘leave to rise’ stage…
I make my own bread too, get fed up of same variety plus I have all the ingredients in the cupboard 🙂 Reckon my 2 year old would like it too. Thanks for sharing!
If my 2 year old is anything to go by, who is merrily having seconds at the moment, yours will love it. I like making my own bread to smuggle extra fruit and veg into SB, it’s cheaper, therapeutic, and a good way to use up slightly-past-its-best fruit and veg kicking about in the bottom of the fridge. This was the first one I tried without ‘bread flour’ and to be honest there’s no difference – except in the price!
Hello Jack, I found your blog via Frugal Queen. Just wanted to send you some hugs, i’ve been in your situation and it’s not the nicest. Mind you, when i had £10 a week for food you could get a lot more for your money then (8yrs ago) so i take my hat off to you for feeding yourself and your little one so well on so little. Things picked up for me as i’m sure they will for you. ‘Keep your chin up chuck’ as we say up here in Lancashire! Take care, Kate xx
Hi Kate, Thankyou! I’ve got plenty more recipes to upload, I’m just re-costing them after the latest hike in Sainsburys Basics prices – sigh. Small Boy is thankfully not fussy about food, which makes things easier. Things are slightly better for me now I’m working (set up my own business in despair and it’s scraping along: http://www.facebook.com/thebreadandjamfoundation ) but I miss the days of being able to wander round the supermarket without scrutinising everything! Messages like yours help keep the old chin up, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one and sometimes I even feel a bit useful!
Hi Jack, made your mandarin and poppy seed loaf last night,it’s all gone now,so making another as we speak-a real hit! Many thanks for sharing!
I do find that… I make one and it just vanishes 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it, hearing from people who have made my recipes is incredible and makes me very happy! 🙂
poppy seeds are 97p in tesco.. must shop around to find some similar price – unless its gone up since this post…