Aye Chef - Cooking with style

This is a traditional Irish Halloween bread, usually stuffed with symbolic tokens, most popularly, a ring for marriage. Just warn your guests of the tradition, otherwise you'll be paying dentist bills :-)

Ingredients: (Makes 2 loaves)

4 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 satchets easy blend dry yeast
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 and 1/4 cups tepid milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups dried mixed fruit
1/3 cup chopped candied peel
1 tablespoon caster sugar

Butter two 450 grams loaf tins. Mix flour, spice, salt, yeast and sugar in a large bowl and make well in the center. Mix butter with tepid milk and lightly beaten egg and add to the bowl.

Add mixed fruit and peel and mix well. Turn mixture into loaf tins. Leave in warm place for about 30 minutes to rise. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

When the dough has doubled in size, bake for about 45 minutes or until the loaves begin to slightly shrink from the sides of the tin.

Mix caster sugar with 2 tablespoons water to make a glaze. Remove loaves from oven and brush over with the glaze. Return to oven for 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven again and put on the wire rack to cool.

Source: The Irish Heritage Cookbook