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Photography by Kirstie Young

Bake | A Lammas loaf

Iona Bower August 1, 2023

Toasted basil and blackberry brioche with summer berries for Lammas

A berry- and herb-studded brioche is a great way to celebrate this moment of wheat and berries, but to say making brioche is a bit of a faff would be quite the understatement. It’s a fun project but this dessert will work beautifully with thick, toasted slices of a good-quality bought brioche loaf if you don’t have the time to make your own. The brioche recipe is based on a recipe from River Cottage Baking, with a few additions. Ideally, start making this the day before you need it, as the dough benefits from spending a night in the fridge.

Serves 4-6

For the basil and blackberry brioche

Makes 2 small loaves

400g strong white bread flour

5g powdered dried yeast

10g salt

90ml warm milk

2 tbsp caster sugar

100g butter, softened

4 eggs, beaten

a handful of blackberries per loaf

basil leaves

To glaze

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

For the fruits

210g blueberries

170g blackberries

4 figs, quartered

a few sprigs of thyme

1 For the brioche, put all of the ingredients except the basil, the berries and the glaze ingredients into a large bowl and bring it all together into a dough. Knead for ten minutes (or put the dough into the bowl of your food processor and use the dough hook on it for ten minutes). Place it in a bowl, cover, and chill overnight. The next morning, remove it from the fridge and shape it into your loaves – I put mine into a round cake tin or small loaf tins – then leave them somewhere warm to prove. This could take several hours as the dough will be starting from cold.

2 Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180/400F. Once the loaves have doubled in size, decorate them by pushing the blackberries into the surface and laying the basil leaves across it, then beat the egg and the milk together and paint it across the surface. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the oven setting to 180C/Fan 160/350F and bake for a further 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

3 Place the fruits and thyme into a saucepan and simmer gently until the berries have burst, the juice is released and the figs are turned the colour of the blackberries. Slice the brioche and toast a piece per person. Serve each person a small bowlful and a piece of toasted brioche to scoop up the warm, herby fruit and to dip into the juices.

This recipe by Lia Leendertz with photography by Kirstie Young was first published in issue 50 of The Simple Things. You can read more about Lammas celebrations in our current August issue.

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InEating Tagsissue 134, lammas, bread
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See the sample of our latest issue here

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Aug 29, 2025
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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