TUSCAN GRAPE BREAD & ITALIAN CHEESES

SERVES 8

This is a joy to make and to serve; the bread becomes blotchy with the purple juice of the grapes as it bakes.

2 teaspoons dried yeast

2 tablespoons caster sugar 300ml lukewarm water

500g strong white flour, plus more to dust 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more

to handle the dough semolina to dust

4 tablespoons raisins

8 tablespoons Marsala

500g seedless red grapes about 8 rosemary or thyme sprigs 1 tablespoon soft light brown sugar Taleggio, Gorgonzola or Fontina, and other

strong Italian cheeses, to serve

Put the yeast into a small bowl with 1 teaspoon of the caster sugar and a couple of tablespoons of the water. Stir, then leave somewhere warm to froth for 15 minutes or so.

Put the flour into a bowl with the salt and the remaining caster sugar and make a well in the middle. Pour the yeast mixture into this and start to mix in the surrounding flour. (I usually begin with a butter knife, but you can use your hands right from the start.) Gradually add the rest of the water, or as much as you need to make a soft, rather wet dough. When it has come together, knead it for 10 minutes. Put into a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat the dough with a film of oil, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave somewhere warm to rise for a couple of hours. It should double in size.

Now you need to ‘knock back’ the dough by kneading it a little on a lightly floured surface. Shape into a round measuring roughly 23cm across. Put on a baking sheet dusted with semolina and leave to prove for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Put the raisins and Marsala in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, then take the pan off the heat and leave the raisins to plump up. They should absorb all the liquid.

Press the whole grapes into the dough and scatter with the rosemary or thyme (use a mixture of leaves and stems with leaves still attached). Sprinkle with the brown sugar and drizzle on the 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Put it in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the bread is cooked (if you lever it off the baking sheet and tap it underneath, it should sound slightly hollow). When there are just 10 minutes left before the end of cooking time, spoon the raisins over the top of the bread, too.

Leave to cool slightly and serve warm, or at room temperature, with the cheese.