Lemon Almond Bread

It’s Sunday morning and a rather late start to the day for me after a lively night with Friends. I’ve still managed to get my morning swim in before breakfast, albeit a slow crawl across the pool as the others keep lapping me. I’m starving on my return home but after a sausage workshop and a Bavarian festival yesterday all I find in the fridge are the leftovers; sausages, sauerkraut and potato salad, not really what I had in mind, the body is craving a sugar injection. Luckily I had made a double batch of sweet bread dough last week and pulled that out of the freezer to make something not so sausage like for morning tea. A quick rummage in the cupboard delivered ground almonds and lemon peel, if I bound them together with egg I though  it might make a kind of citrus marzipan filling. I’m please to say the results did offer a light bread with a not too sweet citrus marzipan style filling, very satisfying and now it was time to put my feet up and have a wee siesta after all that hard work!

Ingredients – makes 1 loaf

• 400g high grade flour
• 40g sugar
• 80g butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 150g lemon candy peel
• 140g ground almonds
• 1 large egg
• sprinkle of slivered almonds for decoration

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Add the yeast to the warm milk to allow it to dissolve.
3. Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
4. Add the yeast and milk, sugar, vanilla and melted butter to the well and bring together to form a tacky bread like dough.
5. Knead dough for 10 minutes and then allow to rest in a warm place till double in size.
6. Place the candy peel, ground almonds and egg into a bowl and beat together.
7. Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 2/3 inch thick, 14 inches by 12 inches.
8. Spread the almond mixture over the dough to completely cover and then roll across the narrowest width.
9. With seam side down place the roll onto a baking tray for a ‘free form’ loaf or into a loaf tin.
10. Lightly spray with oil and cover with a plastic bag.
11. Allow to prove till double in size.
12. glaze with a little egg wash and sprinkle with slivered almonds
13. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown

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