We recently bought a box of mixed ephemera at auction.

There were quite a few vintage calendars in the box including this charming Esso calendar dating from 1958. Each month is represented by a traditional activity for the time of year…

…and on the reverse is a recipe from a different county of the UK. I liked the sound of the black bread from Buckinghamshire so decided to test it out for this week’s Cakes & Bakes. I’m not sure whether it actually hails from Buckinghamshire or not, I couldn’t find any mention of a ‘Buckinghamshire black bread’ on the internet anywhere. Have you ever heard of it?

From its list of ingredients, I presumed it would be a sweet bread, perfect for having with an afternoon cup of tea.

It was really easy to rustle up, I already had everything in the store cupboard. It was quick too, no waiting for the dough to rise; just mix, into a tin and in the oven – job done!

I’ve changed the original cooking temperature and duration. The top began to look a little too ‘black’ and it was definitely fully cooked after an hour.

It’s reminiscent of malt loaf but less sticky and more… ‘treacley’! We had a few slices with a healthy layering of butter – divine!

If you fancy giving this recipe a try you can pin it from here for later!

Black bread

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Bread

Cuisine British

Servings 1 small loaf

Ingredients

  

• 450 g/1lb wholemeal flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• pinch of salt
• 300 ml/½pt milk
• 1 egg
• 300 ml/½pt black treacle
• 225 g/8oz dried fruit I used sultanas

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
• Grease a 1kg/2lb loaf tin
• In a large mixing bowl, sift the salt and bicarbonate with the flour
• Mix in the milk, egg and treacle before adding the dried fruit
• Pour the mixture into the greased loaf tin and bake for about an hour. If the top begins to look too dark, cover with tin foil
• Turn out on to a wire rack to cool

The original recipe says that this bread is best left for a month before cutting & consuming. We couldn't wait that long!

Keyword bread