Recipe: Vegan Fruit Loaf

Having had a good old cupboard sort out this week, I had some small bits of ingredients to use up (after consolidating various jars in my freshly cleaned cupboard). Did a bit of experimenting, and this healthy fruit loaf was the result.

Why Wholemeal Flour for added fibre?

Fibre is an important part of your diet, as it aids digestion, helps control blood sugar, and wards off heart disease. Wholemeal flour is also rich in vitamins B-1, B-3, and B-5, along with riboflavin and folate. It also has more iron, calcium, protein, and other nutrients than white flour.

**Ingredients: (items marked * can be bought at Zero)**

250g plain flour*, plus extra to knead the dough
100g wholemeal flour* (or substitute with white if you wish)
7g of dried yeast*
50g sultanas*
20g sunflower seeds*
20g desiccated coconut*
20g dark chocolate chips* (optional)
1⁄2 a small (200g-ish) tin of pineapple and the juice from the whole tin
Oil or butter- to grease the loaf tin

Method:

Place flour, yeast and sultanas in a bowl and mix together.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients.
Strain the pineapple over a measuring cup or bowl, reserving the juice to use in a minute. Tip the pineapple into the centre. Add hot water to the pineapple juice to make it up to 160ml. Pour into the well in the centre and combine everything together to make a soft, sticky dough. You can do this with a wooden spoon or in a stand mixer with dough attachment.
Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and lightly knead. As you knead, the pineapple may break down and make the dough wetter. If this happens, sprinkle some extra flour over the dough and knead it in. Leave to rise on the work surface or in the bowl for approximately 20 minutes. (Alternatively, use the stand mixer with dough hook on the slowest setting)
Time to ‘knock back’ the loaf. Fold it in on itself a few times, pulling the outer sides into the middle and turning it around as you go. It should be firm but stretchy.
Transfer the risen dough into greased loaf tin (mine is a 450g/1lb one, which is pretty small) cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise again for 30-35 mins. If your kitchen is cold, add another 10 mins or so. A little before the end of the proving time, put on the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 to preheat.
Pop the loaf tin into the oven for 45 minutes, until the bread is risen and crusty on top. It should feel light when you lift it from the oven and sound hollow when you tap the bottom. This is quite a moist bread, so can be left to cook a little longer if you prefer. Mine looked done after 35 mins, but it definitely was soggy on the bottom so I put back in for a little longer.

Allow to cool, then tip out from the loaf tin. Slice, butter and eat.

Tip 1: This loaf is best eaten fresh and slightly warm, but if there is any left over for the next day simply lightly toast it to enjoy. Or you can freeze individual slices to toast on demand.

Tip 2: Why not try dried cranberries instead of sultanas?

Hope you enjoy it!