Orange date bread

1. Combine juice, water, butter, rind, honey and salt. Heat to melt butter. Leave to cool slightly.
2. Sift bread flour into large mixing bowl, add wholewheat flour and mix in the yeast.
3. Stir orange juice mixture into the flours and mix to combine. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.
4. Pour oil into a large bowl. Transfer dough to the bowl and turn in oil until completely coated.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise to twice the volume (about 1 hour).
6. Punch the dough down and knead on a floured surface for 3 minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise for a further 45 minutes.
7. Punch dough down. Turn out on floured surface and flatten. Scatter dates over dough, gather dough over dates and knead briefly to ensure dates are evenly dispersed.
8. Flatten dough out to form a rectangle, roughly the length of the bread tin. Roll the dough up to form a loaf shape and place in greased 23 x 13 x 8 cm loaf tin. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave to rise to top edge of the tin.
9. Beat egg with a little water and carefully brush on top of bread. Bake on middle rack of preheated 200 ºC oven for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 180 ºC and bake for a further 20 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool.
Makes 1 loaf