Lammas loaf

As yesterday was Lammas/Lughnasadh, I decided to honour the day with a special loaf; out came the mill for the flour, and I concocted a new recipe. The resulting loaf is a good, sturdy bread, sweetened with honey and dried fruit, enriched with egg. For me, it captures the time of year perfectly, for the new harvest.

8 oz wholemeal flour
generous tablespoon of local honey
1 large free range egg, beaten
handful of dried fruit of your choice - mine was mixed
yeast of your choice, activated if required I used the quick yeast for this)
warm water to mix
extra flour for kneading

Put your flour into a large bowl, add dried fruit and honey, then beaten egg, then yeast. Mix with knife, and add warm water to get a good dough mix. Turn out on to a floured board and knead for 8 - 10 minutes or so. Shape loaf as you wish, and place on greased and floured tray or into a shaped tin. Leave to rise in a warm place, then bake in a good quick oven for 30 - 40 minutes. Turn out to cool; nicest eaten cold with good butter.

Lammas was one of the great pagan festivals of Britain - known as Lughnasadh or Lughnasa in Ireland and Scotland;The Gule of August, as it was called, probably celebrated the realisation of the first-fruits of the earth, and more particularly that of the grain harvest. When christianity was intorduced, the day continued to be observed as a festival on these grounds, and from a loaf being the usual offering at church, came to be called Hlaf-mass, subsequently shortened to Lammas.