In pursuit of the perfect loaf

Cranberry, date & raisin spelt loaf

Time to go off topic...enough about my random musings on parenting...time for another real love - baking! We recently bought a bread machine - partly because we don't really like the taste and additives found in supermarket bread (and there are no artisan bakeries in a 200km radius!) and partly because it will save us some money (a standard white loaf here costs a minimum of $4 and you never get markdowns here!). My husband has also just harvested his first crop of spelt and kamut and there'll be a lot more interesting grains coming in the future (teff and emmer just to name a couple!).

For the last few months, I've just stuck to a plain old spelt/rye loaf. It took me a few goes to get it right, but now I pretty much know what I'm looking for with the consistency and texture of the dough. However it was only when Boo pilfered a piece of fruit bread from a visiting friend and scoffed it down before you could say "Preservative 282" that I decided it was high time to branch out and take my baking to the next level - a fruit loaf. Now why on earth hadn't I thought of that before?

Anyway, I scoured some recipe books, writing down a list of ingredients as I went. I'm probably what's best known as a 'compilation cook' - I mix and match recipes and come up with my own version. I decided to try a cranberry, date and raisin loaf. The first attempt was OK, but the loaf didn't rise very much and even sank a little in the centre. I expected it to be heavy because I had used about 30% rye flour, but something else was wrong. I decided that it was the old yeast that I had been using. So I tried again with a new sachet of yeast. Same result. Brilliant taste but only good for toasting due to the heavy texture.

For attempt number three, I decided, after a little more reading around, that it was probably that my dough had been too wet. So I monitored the third loaf very carefully and voila...it rose beautifully (but not too much) and the taste was fantastic. I'm looking forward to some further experimentation!