Herb and Onion Bread
  • Switch to Metric
  • Switch to Imperial

Ingredients

  • 180 ml milk
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 180 ml warm water
  • 2 tsp dried yeast*
  • 565 g flour**
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tsp dill seeds
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 2-3 stems parsley
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds
  • * Or an 8g sachet of instant yeast
  • ** White, wholemeal, or a mixture
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • ¾ cup warm water
  • 2 tsp dried yeast*
  • 1 lb 4 oz flour**
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tsp dill seeds
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 2-3 stems parsley
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds
  • * Or an 8g sachet of instant yeast
  • ** White, wholemeal, or a mixture

Herb and Onion Bread

My well-worn copy of Anna Thomas's famous 'Vegetarian Epicure' is dated 1982 but the book was first published ten years earlier, has been reprinted many times and is still in print today. This bread recipe –the first thing I made from it - became an instant favourite. Ms Thomas described it as 'the fastest yeast bread I know' and as well as being quick to make it smells wonderful as it cooks, tastes delicious and toasts magnificently. I have altered the recipe a little over the years but the dominant flavours are still rosemary, dill, and grated onion and if you make it once, I guarantee you will be asked for it again.

Getting ready

  1. Chop the parsley and rosemary fairly finely and grate the peeled onion - a pickling onion is about the right size. Combine the flours in a large mixing bowl. My favourite formula at the moment is 365 g plain, 100 g wholemeal and 100 g coarse semolina flour. (The semolina flour helps give the bread a more open crumb.) If you are using dried yeast, sprinkle it onto the warm water in a small bowl and set it aside for 10 minutes to dissolve. Instant yeast should just be mixed into the flour.

Mixing the dough

  1. Put the milk, sugar, salt and butter into a saucepan and heat gently until the butter melts, and then set aside to cool slightly.
  2. Add the chopped herbs, dill seeds and grated onion to the flour, then pour in the dried yeast and the warm milk mixture. (If you have used instant yeast add the warm water now.)
  3. Mix everything well with a wooden spoon. The dough will be quite sticky. Turn it out onto a floured board and knead it gently for about a minute, then form it into a ball, and put it in a lightly oiled bowl.
  4. Put a plastic cover or a damp, clean tea towel over the bowl and set aside to prove for 1-2 hours until the dough has doubled in size. Instant yeast works a little more quickly than dried yeast and the warmth of your kitchen will also affect the speed of the rise.

Shaping and baking the bread

  1. Preheat the oven to 375º F / 180º C and lightly oil a large loaf tin. Turn the dough out onto a floured board, pat it out a little and then roll it into a cylinder and set it in the loaf tin. (Or you could divide the dough in half and bake it in two small tins.)
  2. Leave the bread to rise for about 45 minutes, covered with a cloth. It should just be rising above the edges of the tin.
  3. Brush the top of the loaf with milk or water and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
  4. Bake the bread for 50 to 60 minutes until it is well risen, a beautiful golden brown and sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom of the loaf.
  5. Set aside to cool on a rack before slicing.