Midsummer Celebrations

 

 Here in Philly we've just passed the Midsummer Solstice, that date in the summer with the longest hours of daylight. To celebrate the coming bounty of summer crops I made us a wholesome, partially homegrown dinner last night. A salad of romaine, arugula, sauteed kale and asparagus, with a parsley lemon dressing. Hardboiled eggs with spicy mustard. And this beautiful nutty yogurt bread. 

I've been making this bread since we lived in England and recently it's fallen off my radar, but I am so happy to remember it exists! Unlike other breads, this one relies on a combination of baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar to get a lift. Which means that it is no-knead and no-rise. All you need are two bowls to mix the dry and the wet ingredients, a loaf tin and an hour in the oven. What you will pull out is the most moist, nutty satisfying bread. I'm sure this loaf won't last long past the weekend.

Nutty Yogurt Bread

1 tbsp sunflower oil (I used grapeseed)

375g plain flour

125g wholemeal flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

90g mixed nuts, chopped (I used walnuts, pecans and almonds)

90g sunflower seeds

1 tsp runny honey

200 ml plain yogurt

300 ml milk

2 tbsp sunflower seeds, for sprinkling

1) Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Grease a 2 lb loaf tin with oil or butter. Sift the flours, salt, cream of tartar, baking soda and baking powder together in a large bowl. Stir in nuts and sunflower seeds.

2) Mix the honey, yogurt, milk and oil together. Stir into dry ingredients and mix to form a soft dough.

3) Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and smooth to level the top. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour until golden and risen. The bread is ready when its edges shrink from the sides of the tin.

Enjoy 15% off all items today with code midsummer14 at my shop!