Lincolnshire Plum Bread is a dark, rich loaf of yeast-risen bread intended as a tea bread.
It is moist, dense, rich and sweet with lots of fruit. There are not actually any plums in it — instead the fruit is raisins, sultanas and / or currants, and mixed dried fruit.
Spices used include cinnamon and allspice.
Recipes will call for strong flour (aka bread flour.)
These days, most commercial versions of Lincolnshire Plum Bread sold are more like a plain bread dough with a few raisins and/or currants tossed in.
Though it’s considered a local Lincolnshire speciality, and might one day be granted Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, it’s accepted that the fruit, and certainly the spices, might not be of local origin, as most of the other ingredients would be.
Cooking Tips
To see if your Lincolnshire Plum Bread is done baking, you tap it listening for a hollow sound.
It is usually eaten with cheese.