Blackberry Seeded Bread recipe

Blackberry seeded bread is my new favourite bread. I love the fruity, wholesome flavour, the seeded texture and the dark colour. It's seasonal, full of goodness and uses the waste from making blackberry cordial. What's not to like! You can find out more about the goodness in blackberry seeds and lots more recipes for using these blackberry super food fruits.

This recipe is also featured in the downloadable pamphlet - GWELEN: Rituals and Practices for conjuring the forest - along with other creative and inspiring activities.

Marbled blackberry bread for a foraging course

Blackberry-seeded bread recipe

A rustic, wild-seeded bread with a crunchy crust, a soft centre and fruity, nutty flavour throughout. This version has a two-toned, marbled effect, but you create an even coloured bread if you prefer. Bread has been part of the human diet for thousands of years. Grinding stones dating to up 30,000 years ago may have been used to grind wild seeds and grains for bread making.

Ingredients

150 g blackberry pulp (leftover from making blackberry cordial)
400 g bread flour (300 g white, 100 g wholemeal)*
1 tsp quick yeast
½ tsp sea salt
Pinch of sugar
250 ml water

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, yeast, salt and sugar. At this stage, if you want a marble-pattern bread, you can half the flour mix into separate bowls and add the blackberry pulp to one of them. Otherwise continue with one bowl and combine the ingredients well.

Making a wild, marbled blackberry bread for a foraging course

Kneading blackberry bread dough for tasters for a foraging course

Gradually add the water and combine, if you’ve separated the mix into 2 bowls, the blackberry mix tends to require a little less water. Knead into a workable dough for 10 minutes, adding a little extra flour or water if needed. Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Knead again for 10 minutes and if you have two balls of dough, now is the time to combine them and knead them together until you’re happy with the colour blend.

Lightly oil a large baking tray and shape the dough into a round, place in the middle of the tray and cover. Leave in a warm place for a further hour or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C/fan 200°C and when the oven has reached the correct temperature, bake the bread for 35 minutes. Allow to cool on a cooling rack and enjoy lathered with butter or with a topping or your choice.