Vegetarian

Tear-and-share bread recipe with shallot and rosemary

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A tear-and-share bread recipe is the perfect dish for taking to picnics and gatherings with friends and family. Our recipe here is sure to fill your home with the mouth-watering smell of freshly baked treats. Flavoured with rosemary and shallot, it’s sure to delight your taste buds too!

Rosemary is a fragrant herb – it contains rosmarinic acid, which has anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial and antioxidant properties. With so many beneficial qualities, it may be well worth including this delicious botanical in more of your recipes.

Sunflower seeds give our tear-and-share bread recipe a decorative centre. These nutritious seeds are full of vitamin E together with several vital minerals, including magnesium, selenium and copper. Plus, don’t forget to decorate each ‘leaf’ of your bread with a shallot petal. Shallots are a helpful source of antioxidants. These powerful molecules help to remove damaging free radicals from the body.

If you can, this bake tastes most delicious fresh out of the oven. Enjoy with a generous spread of quality butter from grass-fed cows for a truly tasty treat.

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Ingredients

  • 1 tsp dried yeast
  • 300ml lukewarm water
  • 400g strong bread flour
  • 100g rye flour
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 organic eggs, beaten
  • 2 tbsp chopped rosemary
  • 1 tbsp turmeric powder
  • 4 banana shallots
  • Organic butter
  • 4 tbsp sunflower seeds
  • Sea salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7. Add the yeast to 50ml of water and leave to activate for five minutes. Using a stand mixer with a dough hook (or by hand), add the flour, yeast mixture, olive oil, half the beaten egg, rosemary, turmeric and the rest of the water. Knead for 12-15 minutes on a low speed, adding a pinch of salt after two minutes.
  2. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place, until doubled in size. This could take an hour or two.
  3. Peel the shallots and slice in half length-wise, then sauté cut-face down in a little butter until caramelising. Gently tease each shallot ‘petal’ apart and set aside.
  4. Tip the dough out from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead for a minute.
  5. Divide the dough into 11 balls and roll 10 of them into large sunflower petal shapes. Roll the remaining ball into a disc.
  6. Line a baking sheet with parchment and lay the dough out in a flower shape.
  7. Brush with the remaining beaten egg, then lay the shallot ‘petals’ on each leaf, pressing them in, then sprinkle sunflower seeds into the middle.
  8. Leave to prove, covered with a tea towel, for another hour.
  9. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a before serving with plenty of butter.