Bread is a great excuse to bring people together, and this enriched sourdough loaf is a wonderful accompaniment to any meal. The recipe here uses a sourdough starter, but don’t worry if you don’t have one – it works well with instant yeast too, just follow the instructions below to make the method work for you. Feeding a crowd? Serve it in slices with the wild garlic pesto (find the recipe to the right) or elevate the flavours of the panzanella (p.112) by turning it into chunky breadcrumbs.

• 350g warm water
• 100g sourdough starter (or 7g active dried yeast)
• 500g strong white bread flour
• 10g salt
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 30g walnuts, chopped
• 10g sun dried tomatoes, chopped

1. Add the warm water to a bowl and whisk in the starter, then add the bread flour and salt, stirring until no dry bits of flour remain. If using instant yeast, add all of the dry ingredients first, followed by the water and stir to combine.
2. For sourdough: Cover the bowl and place somewhere warm. Half an hour after you’ve placed the bowl in the warm place, perform three sets of folds every half an hour for the first 1½ hours by picking up the dough from one side and stretching it across to the other. You need to do four folds each time – turning the bowl ¼ of the way around after each fold. This will build gluten and elasticity in the dough. After the final fold, leave the covered bowl in the warm spot for a further 2 hours.
   If using instant yeast: Cover the bowl with oiled clingfilm and place somewhere warm. After an hour, remove the cling film, punch the dough to knock it back a bit, then mould into a circular shape and place on a lined baking tray. Leave for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
3. After proving, fold in the onions, walnuts and sundried tomatoes, performing the ¼ turn each time to ensure even distribution. Shape the loaf into a circle and flour the top.
4. For sourdough: place the dough into a floured banneton or lined bowl, cover and place in the fridge to prove overnight. To bake the sourdough, heat the oven to 240°C and place a Dutch oven inside. After half an hour, turn the bread out onto a baking sheet, score the top and place inside the Dutch oven. Bake for 30 minutes, turn the oven down to 215°C and bake with the lid off for a further 15 minutes until crusty and golden brown.
   If you’re using instant yeast: score the top of the bread with a knife, place in a preheated oven at 220°C and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

Wild garlic & hazelnut pesto

Makes: 1 large jar
Prep time: 10 minutes

This rich, earthy pesto makes great use of spring wild garlic. Paired with pasta, slathered on toast or spooned into a pie, pastry or pizza, it comes together in minutes and works wonders at elevating meals – simply add a spoonful and watch the magic happen. Toasting the nuts is key as it unlocks more flavour, whilst the garlic cloves balance out the wild garlic nicely – making for a next level pesto.

• 100g hazelnuts
• 20g walnuts
• 100g wild garlic leaves, stalks removed
• 4 large garlic cloves
• juice of 1 lemon
• 150g parmesan
• salt & pepper
• 150ml extra virgin olive oil

1. Place a frying pan over a medium heat and allow to get hot. Add the hazelnuts, walnuts and a pinch of salt and heat in the pan for around 3 minutes, moving them around with a wooden spoon until the oils start to release and the nuts colour slightly.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, add the garlic leaves, garlic cloves and toasted nuts and pulse to break everything down. Add the lemon, Parmesan and salt & pepper and place on a low speed, drizzling in the olive oil as the pesto comes together. Season to taste and adjust the consistency with more olive oil, lemon, Parmesan or seasoning to suit.
3. Spoon the pesto into a jar, followed by a thin layer of olive oil to seal. Place the lid on tightly and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.