Yeast free cheese and herb marmite loaf

I think I mentioned last night, that the fridge is down to the bare bones, with the food shop arriving tonight. I found myself wondering what I could eat for breakfast/lunch.

I was fancying some cheese on toast or welsh rarebit. With no bread or eggs in the fridge, this was going to prove a tad difficult.

I did an internet search for yeast free breads and came across a few. Some included lots of oil, others included the use of beer as a raising agent (we have no beer in the house either. Wine yes, beer no). I then stumbled upon good old Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's soda bread recipe, which does not require eggs, yeast or any fat. I therefore based my lunch bread on this recipe, customising by adding cheese, herbs and marmite to taste. I thought the marmite might also help the bread rise and remember, it also salts the bread.

What you will need (for a small loaf)
250g self raising flour
150ml milk
1 tea spoon bicarbonate of sosa
1 tea spoon of ground black pepper
3 tablespoons of mixed seeds (I used the omega 3 mix and a tablespoon of poppy seeds)
50g of cheddar
1 tea spoon of marmite
Fresh thyme

Firstly, mix the dry ingredients together. I did not have self raising flour, so I used plain white flour with a tea spoon of bicarbonate of soda. Make a well in the middle of the ingredients and add the milk and marmite and mix the dough together with the tea spoon. I'm a marmite lover, but if you're a hater, omit it and add a tea spoon of salt. Get in with your hand towards the end to completely bind together and knead slightly.

Once the dough has been blended, push another hole into the middle of the dough and add the cheese and fresh thyme. Pull the dough up and around the cheddar and knead a little bit further to ensure the cheese is fully combined.

Shape the dough into a round and put a cross in the middle.

 

Place the bread in a pre heated oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes.

This is delicious served warm with some butter, but would be great served with a poached egg for breakfast (perhaps tomorrow with the leftovers) or served with soup.

Of course the bread can be customised in any way you like, with for example the addition of herbs and spices or with cinnamon and raisons for a sweet bread. It's great as you don't need to wait for the dough to rise and can make, bake and serve immediately. Pretty impressive as well if you have someone pop round unexpectedly and want to give them lunch.