Yorkshire date and hemp loaf
The infamous bake that saw Mary sniffing a bag of hemp, this fruited loaf is great for teatime munchies. Hemp flour from Yorkshire provides its regional credentials and toasted hemp seeds add a lovely crunch. Very moreish (some might say addictive) it goes beautifully with a slather of butter or chunk of Wensleydale cheese. Bake this and enjoy a perfectly legal high tea.
Ingredients
200ml boiling water
200g soft pitted dates, chopped
125g fat free plain yogurt
1 1/2 tsps dried quick yeast
50g sultanas
1 dsp mixed spice
1 tbsp date syrup
3 tbsps hemp seeds
300g strong white flour, plus extra for shaping
50g hemp flour
1 tsp salt
Hemp oil, for kneading
Method
- Toast the hemp seeds for a few minutes in a hot pan. Trap them with the lid if they start to pop and take off the heat.
- Take 50g of the dates, pour boiling water on them and leave until just warm.
- Whizz this with the yogurt using a stick blender, then pour into a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in the yeast, the rest of the dates, sultanas, mixed spice, date syrup and hemp seeds.
- Add the flours and salt and work to a soft dough that's fairly sticky.
- Cover and leave for 10 minutes, then knead on a lightly oiled surface, but only for about 15 seconds.
- Put the dough back in the bowl, cover and leave for another 10 minutes, then quick knead, back in the bowl for 10 minutes, quick knead again, and then leave it in the bowl for 30 minutes. (The dough may be tricky to handle so the 'kneading' may be more of a sloppy tickle).
- On a floured surface, shape the dough into a smooth round cob shape and pop on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Cover and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 210C/200C fan.
- Dust the loaf with flour, and then slash with a sharp knife or razor blade to resemble a hemp leaf.
- Bake for 15 minutes, and then reduce the oven temperature to 170C/160C fan and bake for another 25 minutes.