Put the flours, sugar and ginger into a large mixing bowl and stir to combine
Add the salt, yeast and butter, then pour in the cold espresso coffee and ¾ of the milk
Stir with your hands to form a dough, adding more of the milk as required - the dough should be soft and not flaky, but it should also not be too wet or sticky
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured worktop and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic (or use the dough hook attachment on your mixer)
Put the dough into a clean bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave to rise until doubled in size (approx 1-2 hours depending on how warm your kitchen is)
Knock back the dough in the bowl using your fist and then tip it onto a worktop. Flatten it out to a rough rectangle, scatter the chopped dates over it, fold it up and knead for a few minutes to distribute the fruit throughout the dough
Shape the dough into a round or an oval. Lay it onto a floured baking sheet and put it inside a large plastic bag to prove for another hour or so until nearly doubled in size
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 220C/ 425F/ GM7 and put a roasting tin into the bottom shelf
Slash the top of the loaf with a very sharp knife (or a razor blade) and sprinkle with a little flour
Put the loaf into the oven and at the same time fill the baking tin with water
Cook for 20 minutes then turn the heat down to 200C/ 400F/ GM6 and bake for another 5-7 minutes until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath
Leave the loaf in the oven, but turn off the heat and let the bread cool down in the oven with the door ajar
Eat as soon as possible and within 3 days