Tomato Chilli Bread

Ingredients:

60ml warm water
1 packet dried yeast
440g tin whole plum tomatoes
60g softened butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
60g brown sugar
2 tbsp chilli powder
2 tbsp whole cumin seeds
60g polenta (cornmeal)
1.3 kg bread flour
1 medium onion, chopped
6 fresh chillies (as hot as you like)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten

Method:

Mix the yeast with 1/2 cup warm water and 2 tsp sugar. Leave in a warm place to prove (ie for the mixture to froth). Meanwhile place the tinned tomatoes in a blender. Blitz briefly so that they are broken up but some small whole pieces remain. Add enough water to take the volume to 475ml.

Tip the tomato mixture into a bowl and add the butter, salt, remaining sugar, chilli powder, cumin seed, polenta and yeast mixture. Slowly stir-in 1.1 kg of the flour until you form a stiff dough. If needed, knead in more flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Cover the bowl and place in a warm spot until the dough has doubled in size (about 1.5 hours). Knock the dough down and then leave to let it rise again.

Meanwhile finely-chop the onion and the chillies and fry gently in a little oil. Allow to cool and when the dough has risen a second time gently knead the onions and chillies into the dough. Form into loaves (I usually make round batch-type loaves) and place on baking trays. Cover with a cloth and allow to double in size. Then make an egg wash by mixing the beaten egg with 1 tbsp water, a pinch of salt and a twist of black pepper. Brush the loaves with the egg wash and sprinkle with a few cumin seeds.

Bake in an oven pre-heated to 190&00B0;C for about 30–35 minutes. The loaves should be just browned and should sound hollow when tapped on their bases.