I’m from Yorkshire so I can make lots of a Yorkshire breads. I love making bread of any kind and have tried many recipes from all over the world and there are still many ai haven’t baked yet.
This cider bread is made with Somerset Sheppy’s dry cider but you can use a local cider to your area.
This bread does take a little time but it is worth it , it’s almost like a rye sour dough , it keeps well. It can be served with cheese, in a sandwich or my favourite is to toast it and have it with Somerset butter and homemade Seville marmalade.
I like to weigh the liquid in my recipes as it is more accurate than a measuring jug.

What you will need 

• Two flat edged baking sheets if possible
• Clean tea towels or a Baker’s linen sheet

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• A plastic or glass lidded container to put the starter in.
• A plastic spray bottle ( I got mine from a garden centre) keep it just for spraying the oven when you bake bread it helps create a crust on the bread.

Ingredients for rye starter this needs to be made 4-6 hours before making the bread 
​I usually make mine the night before.

• 200g strong white flour
• 50g rye flour
• 5g fresh yeast ( if possible but if you can’t get fresh use a 7g sachet of dried yeast)
• 5 g fine sea salt

 

• 175g water 

Mix the two flours together and rub in the yeast.
Add the salt and the water mixing with your hand until the dough comes together.
Place in the lidded container and leave overnight.

Ingredients for cider bread
The quantity of prepared starter

• 750g strong white bread flour plus extra for dusting
• 250g dark rye flour
• 10g fresh yeast ( or 2 sachets of dried yeast, 15g)
• 20g fine sea salt
• 450g good dry cider
• 150g just warm water
• 30g good quality olive oil

Set the oven for 220C conventional, 190C fan assisted, gas.

Method
Turn the rye starter into a large bowl try to do this in one scoop.
Add the flours and rub in the yeast, add the salt .

Make a well in the middle of the flour then add the water, cider and oil stir in with your hand gathering it together , tip it out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a ball.
Place in a lightly floured bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rest fo 40 minutes.

Lightly flour two tea towels or the Baker’s sheet.
Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into 4 equal pieces.

Take one piece and knead into a round and slightly flatten with the heel of your hand. Fold one edge into the middle and press down with the heel of your hand. Fold the other side into the middle and press down. Fold one half over the other to create a roll with the seam at the bottom. At this point you can round the ends or you can roll the ends to make a small point. 

Make two folds on one of the tea towels and lightly flour, place the roll in the fold ( this will stop the loaves from touching each other ). Repeat this process with the remaining 3 pieces of dough. Cover with tea towels and leave to prove for 1 1/2 -2 hours or until roughly doubled in size.
Transfer the loaves onto the flat baking sheets allowing two to a sheet. Using a sharp knife or a razor blade ( I use a Stanly knife with a retractable razor blade) make a cut the length of each loaf.

Spray the inside of the oven with water and then place the loaves into the hot oven.
Bake for 10 minutes and then turn down the oven to 180C fan and bake for a further 35-40 minutes. The loaves should be golden in colour and the bottom of each loaf should sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack.

The loaves will keep for two days but I usually freeze 3 and eat one fresh. You could be very kind and share the bread with family or neighbors. The frozen bread will last up to 4 weeks, to use the frozen bread take a loaf and defrost it, then bake for 10 minutes to crisp up again.