Chive Bloomer

Our chives are growing like crazy at the moment and I’ve been using them wherever possible, but still not making a dent in the abundant harvest (much to the bumble bees’ delight as they seem to love love LOVE chive flowers). So it was a case of thinking up ideas of how to use as many as possible, in as many ways as I could! I was going to make a loaf anyway, to make our weekend lunches more exciting, so why not a chive loaf? Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen a chive loaf before, but why not? The mellow oniony-ness of the chives would surely give a lovely subtle savoury note to a traditional white bloomer, and white it had to be, the idea of chives in brown bread just seemed so wrong. As it turns out, chive bread is very very good idea, perfect with a ploughman’s style lunch, in sandwiches or with a steaming bowl of soup (we had it with our family favourite tomato soup). Although, I’m not so sure it would work with jam on at breakfast time!! This is a particularly soft bread with a chewy rather than crusty outer.

Chive Bloomer (dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

• 3 cup strong bread flour
• 2 tbsp soya soured cream such as Tofutti or dairy-free yogurt
• 2 tbsp dairyfree spread/margarine
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• Pinch of bicarbonate of soda
• 1 1/2 tsps dried fast action yeast
• 2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
• 1 cup dairyfree milk, I opt for Oatly

1. Rub the spread into the flour until is resembles fine breadcrumbs, stir in the soured cream. Add the salt, sugar, bicarbonate, yeast and chives.
2. Pour in the dairyfree milk and bring together to form a dough. Knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth and silky and bounces back when pressed.
3. Place in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm spot to double in size (approx 1 hour)
4. Knock back the dough, form into a classic bloomer shape on a floured baking sheet (or any shape you like), sprinkle the top with a little flour and score a cross with a sharp knife. This will give the bloomer effect.
5. Cover with cling film (oiled) and leave for another 30 minutes to rise again.
6. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade/350 degrees Fahrenheit, bake for 20-30 minutes until golden and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.