description

At Bourke Street Bakery, we blend allspice, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and fruit soak into our basic sourdough to craft this unique loaf. In our first year of trading, we sold these loaves as a substitute for hot cross buns. Since we didn’t have a bun divider at the time, producing large quantities of hot cross buns would have been excessively time-consuming. This approach was supported by the unverified belief that hot cross buns originally evolved from sourdough.

method

To make the spiced fruit sourdough, begin by following the mixing instructions for sourdough until you can stretch the dough to create a thin, translucent window. Gently mix in the combined spices and soaked fruit. This can be done by folding the ingredients through the dough by hand until just combined, or by using an electric mixer on slow speed for 2-3 minutes, helping the process by occasionally stopping the mixer to redistribute the dough around the bowl.

Lightly grease a container with oil spray and place the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to bulk prove at ambient room temperature, around 20°C, for 1 hour.

To knock back the dough, tip it onto a lightly floured surface and flatten into a rectangle about 2.5 cm thick. Fold one third of the dough back onto itself and repeat with the other third. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and fold again into thirds. Return the dough to the oiled container and let it prove for another hour.

Divide the dough into two even portions, each weighing about 500 g. Shape each portion into a round loaf following the shaping instructions detailed earlier.

Line two small baskets with a tea towel each and lightly dust with flour, placing a loaf inside each, seam side up. If using traditional cane baskets, omit the tea towel and just dust with flour. Alternatively, place the loaves on a baking tray lined with baking paper, seam side down. Cover loosely with a plastic bag and refrigerate for 8-12 hours.

Preheat the oven to its highest setting. After removing the loaves from the refrigerator, allow them to rest in a humid environment, around 25°C, for 1 to 4 hours, until each loaf has increased in size by two-thirds. The loaves are ready if they rebound quickly and steadily when lightly pressed with a finger. Score the loaves as directed and place them in the oven.

Immediately spray the oven with water and reduce the temperature to 220°C. Bake the loaves for 20 minutes, then rotate them and continue baking for another 10 minutes, being careful to avoid burning. Tap the base of each loaf; if it sounds hollow, they are ready. The total baking time should not exceed 40 minutes.