Simple Date And Bran Loaf Recipe

Let me share a bran loaf recipe this Food Waste Friday…

Time for a little story…

…the strangest thing happened this week. This blog shared a link to Facebook of a bran loaf recipe I published over 5 years ago.

Why strange? Well for 2 reasons:

1. It did it without me being involved at all
2. I was talking about the recipe just a few days before with my sister

Now you know me, I don’t believe in coincidence.

I took it as a sign, not only to make the bran loaf once more, but to update the recipe here (with photos) because guess who found a pack of dried dates that needed using up ASAP?

It also gave me a great excuse to get out my mother’s mixing bowl that I loved using as a child

Simple Date And Bran Loaf Recipe

You will need:

8oz/225g dried dates

6oz/175g bran sticks (Kelloggs All Bran or own-brand)

4oz/120g self-raising flour

3oz/85g brown sugar

Half a pint of milk / 284ml

Large mixing bowl

1/2lb loaf tin – greased and floured

Tea-towel

Six simple steps to make your date and bran loaf:

Step 1 – put all of the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl

Step 2 – add the milk and stir thoroughly (I mean thoroughly!)

Step 3 – cover with a clean dry tea-towel and leave for 90 minutes

Step 4 – place the mixture in the loaf tin

Step 5 – bake in a pre-heated oven for 45-60 mins in a moderate oven – 140/150 degrees (fan-oven) Gas mark 3-4

Step 6 – when baked carefully remove the loaf from the tin, cool and serve sliced.

This recipe is ideal for using up any dried fruit that you may have. My favourite is sultanas. It can be kept for up to a week in an airtight container – and for some reason (unknown to me) it keeps best top down.

What is your ‘go-to’ recipe when using up dried fruit? Please do share!