Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Bread

You gotta love irony. Drought warnings by the Environment Secretary, followed by the wettest April on record.

Does that mean that we will avoid a hosepipe ban this summer? Of course not. Water, like everything else at the moment is scarce - or that's what the Government likes you to believe. Me? I don't believe a word I hear in the papers, or by politicians on TV. Everyone has an agenda, mainly leading to the hardworking taxpayer working harder and paying more tax.

Let's start a new country like the guy a read about who owns an island in the Seychelles, called Moyenne. He paid £8000 for it in 1964 and now it's worth millions. Of course, if pirates tried to take it over he'd ask the mainland Police to intervene - which costs money, paid for out of taxes. Is there no end?

Anyway, I don't care about scarcity, because without it I couldn't validate my fabulous site offering meals for under £3 per serving. Long live austerity!!!

Today's recipe is a perfect example why the current system does not work. Regular supermarket bread is pappy, bland stodge. DON'T BUY IT!!! I started making my own bread a little while ago, and I haven't bought a loaf of medium-sliced since. Bread dough takes ten minutes to make, a half hour to cook and is a quarter of the price of shop-bought bread. Oh, and it tastes incredible. I bet you could make a loaf from scratch quicker than it would take you to go the shops and buy its inferior equivalent.

The sun-dried tomato pesto is so delicious and easy to make, that I keep a jar in the fridge to use in couscous or pasta dishes, or simply to use as a dip for crudites.

Cost? £1 per loaf, at the current rate of inflation.

Serves 4-6 (Makes a large 500g loaf)

INGREDIENTS:

50g sun-dried tomatoes, in 2 tablespoons of their marinating oil
1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of pine nuts
1 teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano
1 clove of garlic
Pinches of salt and pepper
Half of my Easy Bread Dough Recipe, proved once only

In a blender, blitz the tomatoes, oil, cheese, pine nuts, garlic, herbs and seasonings until smooth, and set aside. On an oiled baking sheet, pound the dough into a rough oval, 5cm thick. Spread the dough with the sun-dried tomato pesto and allow the dough to rise for a second time. Preheat oven to 200c. After an hour or so of proving, bake in the oven until golden and crunchy and hollow on the bottom when tapped. Serve warm.