Walnut Bread
AKA my boyfriend’s favorite bread! It’s simple and easy enough to tweak the ingredients to your own liking. I have always made this with all purpose flour or bread flour, but for this post I used a combination of whole wheat and bread flour. We personally think this recipe is perfect as it is, but you are welcome to add dried fruits and nuts for more flavor.
Recipe
serves: 1 bread | prep: 15 mins | bake: 7-9 mins | idle: 18-24 hrs
Ingredients
140g chopped walnuts, toasted (1 1/4 cups)
4g active dry yeast (1 tsp)
235ml warm water (1 cup)
8g salt (1/2 tbsp)
74g honey (1/4 cup)
30 ml walnut oil , divided to 2 (2 tbsp)
130 g whole-wheat flour or all purpose flour (1 cup)
185 g bread flour or all purpose flour (1 1/2 cups)
Semolina or cornmeal for dusting
Directions
Toast walnuts in an oven. Set aside to cool.
Place yeast in a large mixing bowl. Mix salt into warm water and stir into yeast. Stir in honey and half the oil.
Measure 1 cup of the toasted walnuts, place in a food processor with 2 tbsp of the whole-wheat flour and process until finely ground. Add to bowl along with remaining whole-wheat flour. Stir with a wooden spoon.
Add bread flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough forms and leaves the sides of the bowl. (At this point you’re better off mixing with your hands.) Turn dough out onto a floured work surface or mount bowl to mixer if using a stand mixer. Continue adding bread flour, kneading as you go, until you have a dough that’s a bit on the soft side, only slightly sticky and easy to handle.
Clean out your bowl, coat it with 1/2 tbsp oil, and place dough back into the bowl, turning it so it’s oiled all over. Cover with a cloth and set aside to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
on a lightly floured surface, move dough and punch the dough down, add remaining toasted walnuts and lightly knead them into the dough. I prefer walnuts chopped so it’s not too heavy and makes it easier to knead. Dust baking sheet with semolina or cornmeal. Shape dough to a ball and place on the baking sheet. Cover loosely with damp towel and let rise until swollen, 30-60 mins.
Place the oven rack in the lowest position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Place an oven safe bowl/dish with ice cubes or water on the floor of the oven to create steam.
Slash the tops of the breads with a razor or knife. Your slashes should be at least half-inch deep.
Place the baking sheet in the oven. Bake 20 mins. By this time the breads should be a nice honey-brown. Brush them with remaining oil, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for about 25 minutes longer, until the bread is well browned, sound hollow when tapped, and with internal temperature of 190 F. Allow to cool at least 1 hour before cutting.
