This is a Dan Lepard recipe – published in the Saturday Guardian, but also over here on his forum.

In his intro, Dan says it’s “A loaf that’s unfairly despised by foodies and artisan bakers…”. I wonder why it’s despised. It’s not got the deep flavours of a naturally leavened bread, say, but it’s  fun and with its red hue and lumps of sundried tomato it certainly adds variety to sarnies. The crust, created by rolling the loaf in polenta, is great.

This one uses polenta, as well as maize flour (I used Cool Chile Co Masa harina).

I thought the result would be crumbly and a bit dry, but it’s not. Instead, it’s got a good crumb and a pleasant yellowing colour. Quite a handsome loaf too.

As with much of my bread-making here, it’s another one from Dan Lepard’s The Handmade Loaf, which I’m slowly working my way through.