Making bread is so much fun and soooo therapeutic. As Mary Berry once said to Paul Hollywood in a masterclass, “When you’re making bread it takes a lot of energy out of you and if you’re feeling a bit cross and angry it releases it.” Well, I don’t know about angry, but it certainly releases a lot of emotion in me, warm, fuzzy yum emotions. There’s nothing more satisfying than mixing the dough, adding the delicious ingredients, getting the satisfaction of seeing it rise and then baking the loaf in the oven. Should be like a daily mantra or prayer to keep us all satisfied and sane, although that would take a lot of time and be very fattening! Speaking of Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, the next Great British Bake off is about to start!! 
How exciting, Paul Hollywood posted a photo of the lucky contestants. 🙂 So baking this bread was easy and fun…
I mixed up the two types of flour, wholemeal and white with yeast and salt, then added the warm water to make a soft but slightly sticky dough. 
After toasting the hazelnuts, I chopped them roughly, and added these with the evenly chopped dried figs to the dough. 
It seemed like a party of sorts, the amount of goodness going into this bread. I mixed the nuts and fruit fully through, then divided it into two loaves, yes two, 
we are eating double this week okay!! Then waited for them to double in size before slipping them into a very hot oven to bake. 
What a treat,
having all this delicious bread in the house this week, 
although it’s my weakness. But toasted homemade bread with melted butter in winter with a bowl of Pumpkin Soup , you can’t go wrong.
