Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Olive, Cheese and Buttermilk Herb Bread

I have a lovely co-worker to kindly drops me home once a week ,and since I didn't want make something too sweet, I opted to make a bread.

But not just any regular bread would do to show my gratitude, so I decided to make a special bread filled with delicious ingredients. Homemade bread baking in your oven gives you such a warm and fuzzy feeling, and this bread in particular was delicious, nutritious and very filling.

Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Olive, Cheese and Buttermilk Herb Bread 

Recipe Adapted from "Sugar and Everything" by Jo

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ cup grated cheddar cheese

½ cup green olives, sliced

8 pieces sun dried tomatoes, sliced thinly

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup mixture of spring onion and Italian parsley

2 tsp thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried thyme

2 eggs

2-½ Tbsp olive oil

1 1/4 cup buttermilk 

Egg wash (optional) made from 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tsp water

*you can add tsp salt to your dough, but I didn't since I found the olives added salt to the bread. Another options is you can add some sea salt on the top of the bread.

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 180C or 350F. Butter a large loaf tin, line it with butter parchment paper or dust with flour. Set tin aside.

2) Sift flour, baking powder, soda, and pepper into a large bowl. Use a whisk to blend in dry ingredients. Add cheese, olives, sun dried tomatoes, spring onion, parsley and thyme and stir them thoroughly together.

3) In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the oil and buttermilk until they are well combined.

4) Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir together to form a thick, sticky batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and spread it out evenly.

5) Brush the top of the batter with the egg wash. You can sprinkle some sea salt onto the loaf.

6) Bake for 40 - 45 minutes. You can make sure the bread is ready by inserting a knife in the middle of the loaf, if it comes out clean your loaf s ready. If the top starts to burn, place a piece of foil to cover the top of the loaf and continue baking. Leave in baking loaf tray for 5 minutes before putting it onto a wire rack.

7) This loaf is best served on the same day. Wrap leftovers tightly and store in fridge. Gently reheat in oven if serving leftovers.

Click below for a printable version :)

Thanks for reading!

xo Andrea