Blue cheese and walnut bread with celery and apple salad

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5.

2. For the bread, sift the flours, bicarbonate of soda, salt, sugar and pepper into a large bowl.

3. Combine the melted butter with the milk. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the liquid and, using your hands, mix to a soft dough. Add the cheese and walnuts and gently knead to combine.

4. Turn out onto a floured surface and shape into a rough oval, about 5cm thick. Place on a floured baking sheet and, using a sharp knife, slash the bread on the diagonal 3 times.

5. Dust with a little extra flour and bake for 40 minutes - the bread should be a golden brown colour and sound hollow when tapped. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

6. For the celery salad, combine all the salad ingredients and season with black pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl.

7. Cut the bread into thick chunks and serve with the salad. If you're feeling indulgent, add an extra slab of blue cheese.