Artisan home baked fruit bread featuring brewing yeasts & byproducts Ballarat Style!

This bread is a bit special because it uses a special yeast starter culture derived from brewing- the sediment and liquids from a ginger beer plant, and a long, slow fermentation process, and its super easy to make, even for novice bread maker like myself.

I like eating this for breakfast, and it makes a great start to your day.

artisan_fruit_bread_ballarat

Ingredients:

400gm Flour

250 brewed ginger beer plant and sediment slurry

Handful of dried raisins or Sultanas

Dates (optional)

4 overripe bananas, mashed

Tablespoon Cinnamon.

50 grams whole-seed and ancient grain protein breakfast topper mix (i.e. 24/7 brand)

4 Tablespoons sugar

100ml + milk

Method:

Combine flour, sugar and ginger beer plant slurry in a large mixing bowl.
Mix in sultanas, cinnamon and other fruit including bananas.
Mix in seeds and protein breakfast topper mix sparingly- clumps, and surface seeds are great in this bread.
Add milk if necessary to fully combine into a sticky dough consistency that is not too dry.
Let stand, covered with a tea-towel for at least 2 hours, but preferably 12-24 hours for the yeast to consume the sugars and ferment.
Shape mixture into a cobb loaf form (round) on a flat baking tray.
Bake for 35-45 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius in a fan forced oven.

This bread is quite heavy and rich, slice thinly, and toast in the toaster, server with a glass of milk or hot earl grey tea, and is great for breakfast.

The bread will keep at room temprature and refrigerated for a number of days, but is nicest on the first day of course.

This favourite post was lifted from my site: http://bunnyscrum.com/wordpress/artisan-home-baked-fruit-banana-bread-of-ballarat/