Swirled Fruit Loaf
If you know me, you know that I have a strict “No hot cross buns until the week before Easter rule”
Not for anyone else, just for myself.
I love hot cross buns so much that I would start eating them in January and then be sick of them by Easter.
Is that you? Are you so HCBed-out that you CBF?
This loaf is for both of us then, because it’s not a hot cross bun – so you can break the bun boredom and I can eat it all year round.
Disclaimer, I am NOT a baker. I only learned to make a basic loaf of bread last year so if I can make this then you absolutely can.
You can add whatever fruit combo you like, just make sure that the weights match.
Go on, go make a swirly bun then serve it slathered in butter.
Happy Easter!
Ingredients
- FRUIT LOAF
375 ml milk
50 grams butter
1 Tbsp yeast
110 grams caster sugar
200 grams sultanas
50 grams dried figs, chopped
50 grams dried apricots, chopped
Zest of 1 orange
450 grams plain flour
185 grams spelt flour
2 tsp bread improver
2 1/2 tsp mixed spice
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
- CINNAMON SWIRL
60 grams soft butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
- GLAZE
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp boiling water
Directions
- Place the yeast and 1 Tbsp of sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook.
- Place the butter and milk in a small saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted and the milk is at room temperature.
- Pour the milk into the stand mixer bowl and let sit for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
- While the yeast activates, add the flours, bread improver, cinnamon and mixed spice and remaining sugar together in a large bowl and whisk lightly to combine.
- One the yeast is ready, place all of the other ingredients into the mixer bowl and mix on low, kneading for 8 minutes.
- Lightly oil a large bowl and tip the dough in, covering with plastic wrap and leaving to sit in a warm spot for 60 minutes, until doubled in size.
- Prepare the filling by mixing the ingredients together to form a soft, spiced paste.
- Butter and line two loaf pans.
- Lightly oil your bench and tip the dough out and divide into two even sections.
- Roll each section out to be as wide as your loaf pan and about 1 cm thick then spread half of the filling over each.
- Roll up and place in the loaf tins.
- Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise again for a further 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 190° C, fan-forced and bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Mix glaze ingredients together and brush over top while still hot.
- Drizzle with icing before serving, if desired.
Notes
- This recipe also makes 12 large hot cross buns, without the swirl.
- Just form it into 12 equal balls and place on a baking tray, instead of the two loaf tins.
- Pipe a mixture of ⅓ cup flour and ¼ cup water into crosses on top before baking.
