Hi Donna,
Sounds delicious! I do love Apricots. In fact, I just tried a new recipe for Apricot-Nut Bread this past weekend...
Apricot and Brazil Nut Bread
This recipe makes just one loaf, and to make matters even easier you can bake it in a throwaway tinfoil pie dish.
Makes one large loaf.
Calories per slice: approx. 90, depending on thickness.
- 2 teacups plus 1 tablespoon STRONG plain white bread flour
- 1 teacup warm water and milk mixed
- 1 tbsp walnut oil
- 1 level tsp. Dried yeast (buy the activated yeast)
- 1 level tsp salt
- 2 tsp. Sugar
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 teacup broken brazils and chopped apricots, mixed.
1. Put all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
2. Pour in the water/milk mix and the oil. Start to mix using your hand. If the mixture gets a little soggy, add more flour a little at a time.
3. Knead for no less than ten minutes. This doesn't have to be a performance, but it has to be done. Kneading is done by pulling the outside of the dough towards the centre working your way round and round. Take the outside and pull it in. When the time is up, leave it in the bowl, put a tea towel over the top and go away for an hour. If the room isn't very warm it might be 2 or 3 hours.
4. The dough should now be double the size it was. If it isn't, it might have been too cold, so leave it a little longer, or put near a radiator.
5. Now you do what's called 'knocking back'. It takes 30 seconds. You take out the dough and press all the air out of it, pushing it back to the size it was before. Make it into the shape you want your final loaf to be. Put on an oiled, floured foil tray or into a long foil loaf container. Cover it up and leave it to rise again. It should be double the size, as before.
Set your oven to 220C, Gas mark 7 or 400F.
6. When ready, put the loaf straight into the oven, leave it to bake and about 20 minutes later, you should have one golden, fragrant loaf!
Note: This all sounds laborious, but it isn't. Most of the work is the kneading, but most of the time is spent doing nothing at all. If you want to leave the dough and go out for the day, it will rise in the fridge, taking about 8 hours.
7. Cool completely on a wire rack, then either eat it fresh or slice carefully and freeze.
You know me, I love home-made breads. Enjoy!
Have A Bright & Blessed Christmas,
Phil