Date and Coconut Bread

'Bread with bits' was the challenge from Jen at Jen's Food and Michelle at Utterly Scrummy Food for Families for the May Bready Steady Go!  The Bread with Bits challenge is hosted at Utterly Scrummy Food for Families

Now you might not think this bread I made had many bits in it, they are certainly not obvious but you can certainly taste them because this is Date and Coconut Bread.  I seemed to have a surfeit of dates in my cupboard and some dessicated coconut I'd bought for another recipe, it seems like a good combination to go with and I was right.  The bread is slightly sweet but not overpoweringly so.  It is fabulous just with butter or as toast with marmalade, but would also work with cheese or with a soup like butternut squash or parsnip where there is already some sweetness.

Date and Coconut Bread 
makes a 450g (1 lb) loaf

130g strong white flour
130g wholemeal flour
1 1/2 tsp fast action yeast
4 tbsp chopped dates
4 tbsp dessicated coconut
1 egg
3 tbsp water
65ml milk
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp salt.

I made my loaf in the bread maker using the programme for fruit bread.  This meant simply adding all the ingredients except the dates and coconut and using the fruit and nut dispenser to automatically add them in later.

If you are making your bread without a bread machine, then here are the instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients, apart from the dates and coconut, in a large bowl. Make sure  the yeast does not come into direct contact with the salt when you  first add them to the bowl.
2. Knead well until the dough is elastic, smooth and shiny. Cover with a piece of cling film and leave to rise for one hour.
3. Add the dates and coconut  to the dough and knead again for 5 minutes until they are mixed through the dough.
4. Either shape and place into a 450g (1 lb) tin or form into a round and place on a baking tray, leave to prove for an hour in a warm place.
5. Bake at 220C/425F/Gas 7 for 30 minutes until golden-brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.