Clodagh McKenna’s seeded cheddar sunflower bread recipe

“Beautiful, isn’t it? This recipe is based on the wonderful traditional Irish soda bread that the whole world should know how to make,” says This Morning resident chef Clodagh McKenna.

“I’ve added Cheddar for flavour, but leave that out for the classic recipe. This loaf is cut into wedges, so every person can tear off their own, and they make it look like a sunflower! You can use any seeds I suggest here, even just a single variety. This freezes well, too.”

Seeded cheddar sunflower bread

Ingredients
(Makes 1 loaf, serves 8)

200g plain flour, plus more to dust
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp fine sea salt
350g wholemeal flour
125g Cheddar cheese, grated
350ml whole milk, plus more to glaze
250ml natural yogurt, plus more to glaze

For the topping, any of:
Pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, caraway seeds, sunflower seeds, cumin seeds, chia seeds or mustard seeds.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan (425°F), Gas Mark 7.

2. Sift the white flour, bicarb and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir in the wholemeal flour and Cheddar. With clean hands, mix to combine, then make a well in the centre of the bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and yogurt, then slowly pour this into the well of dry ingredients, using a fork to mix it into the flour. Make sure there are no dry patches and that the dough is completely wet.

4. Pat your hands with flour and shape the dough into a round, then place on a floured baking tray. Flour a large knife and cut a cross into the top, followed by a diagonal cross, cutting about two-thirds of the way through. You should have 8 wedges, like cake slices.

5. Mix together a small amount more of milk and yogurt, in a rough 3:2 ratio, in the yogurt bowl. Brush the loaf with the milk and yogurt mixture, to give a lovely golden colour to the bread once baked, then sprinkle on the seeds. It should start to look like a flower.

6. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 150°C fan (340°F), Gas Mark 3½ and bake for a further 15 minutes. To test whether the loaf is cooked, tap the base with your knuckles: it should sound hollow. Leave to cool on a wire rack. It will last, wrapped in a damp tea towel, for 1 week.

Clodagh’s Happy Cooking by Clodagh McKenna is published in hardback by Kyle Books, priced £25. Photography by David Loftus. Available 30 October.