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Twenty-first century ham, cheese & chive bread

On weekends I love to spend hours in the kitchen preparing fresh breads, hearty meat dishes and lots of puddings. I especially love the taste of freshly baked bread! I find that during the week, however, sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day for baking, so I dreamed up this very tasty little number, which is made from start to finish in under an hour – the perfect 21st-century bread.

Makes 1 loaf

425g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

150g mature Cheddar cheese, grated, plus an extra 10g grated cheese, for sprinkling

½ bunch of fresh chives, finely chopped

Few twists of black pepper

1 tsp paprika (optional)

1 tsp mustard powder (optional)

6 slices of honey roast ham, ripped up into little bits

200–225ml water

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6. Put all of the ingredients in a bowl except the water and the 10g of grated cheese and mix together well. Add enough water to make a soft but not sticky dough. I usually add 200ml, stir it briefly and then get my hands in and squidge it together, adding more water if necessary. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball, flatten the ball slightly, so it cooks more quickly, then slash the loaf three times vertically with a sharp knife. Sprinkle over the remaining grated cheese.

Spray some water into the oven to create a steamy atmosphere. I usually spray 8–10 squirts with a spray gun, then place the dough on a baking tray and bake for 35–45 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and smells cooked.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool a little bit (although I find this quite hard to do!). I love this bread served with lots of butter and a steaming hot bowl of soup.