Peanut Chilli Batard

It's the perfect time of the year for elegant pre-dinner nibbles with Champagne, dainty afternoon snacks with mojitos, classy evening canapes with G&Ts... or eating a whole batard for dinner while drinking Coronas and watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Peanut Chilli Batards
slightly adapted from here
Makes 3

50g tahini

75g crunchy peanut butter

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 long red chillies, charred over a flame until blackened, deseeded and finely chopped

75g roasted peanuts

500g multi-grain bread flour (I used a German blend), plus extra for dusting

1 teaspoon dry yeast

olive oil, for kneading

Sesame seeds

Put the tahini, peanut butter, cumin and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add 100ml hot water, chopped chillies, 200ml cold water and the peanuts. Mix on low until combined. Add the flour and yeast and mix on low again until the mixture comes together into a soft, sticky dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto an oiled worktop and knead for about 10 seconds. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with the plastic wrap again and leave to rise for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 220C (425F).

Divide the dough onto three even portions, shape into balls and leave for 15 minutes to rest again. Shape into sticks. Flour a worktop and pat each stick into an oval, fold it upon itself a few times, then roll to 30cm in length. Brush with water, roll in sesame seeds and leave to rise on a baking paper lined baking tray for 45 minutes. Slash down the length of each loaf with a sharp knife and bake for 30 minutes.