Spiced Onion & Potato Bread

This bread is one of my very favourite things to make. It's so warm and squidgy and goes perfectly with Autumn soups and stews. If you want my advice (which of course you do), serve it with a great big bowl of curried lentil soup, making a little extra of the onions from the bread to put on top of the soup.

Ingredients: 1 large potato (approx 200g), 1 tbsp sunflower oil, 150g finely chopped onion, 1 1/2 tsps cumin seeds, 1 1/2 tsps fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp paprika, 2 tbsps butter, 475g strong white flour, 2 tsps caster sugar, 2 tsps salt, 1 1/2 tsp fast action dried yeast, 200ml water, melted butter to finish.

1. Peel and halve the potato, then boil in a saucepan until tender. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion until softened. Stir in the spices and cook for another minute.
2. Drain the potato and mash finely with the butter. Leave to cool.
3. Put the flour in a large bowl, stir in the sugar, salt and yeast. Add the potato and all but 2 tablespoons of the spiced onions. Mix in enough water to make a soft dough.
4. Knead well on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Put the dough back in the bowl and cover with oiled clingfilm. Leave in a warm place to rise for an hour or until doubled in size.
5. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead well then press into a greased tin. Sprinkle with the reserved onions, cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise for 30 minutes.
6. Remove the clingfilm and bake in a pre-heated oven, 200 oC for 30-35 minutes until the bread is golden and sounds hollow when tapped.
7. Remove from the tin, transfer to a wire rack and brush with the extra melted butter and sprinkle some more of the reserved onions on top.

I've only ever made this as your average loaf, but it would probably be even more delicious as a round 'tear and share' sort of bread. Much friendlier sounding that way too.