I take solace in baking bread: the comfort of a familiar process, the contentment of dough in my hands, the glee at a loaf out of the oven. Simple Joys.
This walnut bread is one of Loving Husband’s favourites so I make it once a week. It is packed with walnuts & wholewheat flour (read: healthier) and is great for slathering with butter. For those who are not fans of kneading, this recipe happily does not require a great deal of it.
Walnut Loaf
adapted from James Morton’s “Brilliant Bread”
- 300g wholemeal flour (I use Bob Red Mill Stoneground Organic Wholewheat Flour)
- 200g bread flour (I use Bob Red Mill Artisan Bread Flour)
- 1 sachet (7g) yeast
- 8g salt
- 125g full fat milk
- 30g runny honey
- 200g tepid water
- 200g walnuts
- In a large bowl, mix together both flours, yeast and salt. Mix the yeast and salt on opposite sides of the bowl, keeping them separate.
- Add all the milk, honey and water. Combine into a wet dough.
- Cover and rest the dough for 30 min, if you have the time (I typically rest mine for 15 min). Knead the dough in the bowl until pliable and then off in walnuts. Keep kneading till they are fairly well distributed.
- Cover and rest the dough for 1-1.5 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and shape as desired.
- Prove on a floured pan (I used a large loaf tin) for at least 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 210 degrees.
- Once proved, score the top of the bread with a quick slash. Bake for approximately 35-40 mins or until golden brown.
This post is my contribution to Friendly Friday Photo: Simple Joys hosted by Sandy at TheSandyChronicles and Amanda at SomethingToPonderAbout
I know the joy of making bread! I am an avid bread maker too. I started making bread when I was in Singapore and needed more than I could find in the local markets. Now I never buy store-made bread. Homemade is so much nicer. Your loaf looks yummy, no wonder it’s your husband’s fav 🙂
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It is so much nicer than store bought! It is hard to get a lot of the breads we like to eat at the store anyway: challah, bagels
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I just love the idea of simple joys. We should look for these every day. I’m happy you have your bread making!
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Indeed we should take joy in the little everyday things – thank you for sharing my delight,Betsy. Hope your day was filled with much laughter!
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Yum!! This looks so delicious. I make a banana and walnut bread with leftover sourdough starter. It’s not a true yeasted bread, but does contain fermented flour and seems to be kinder on our stomachs than other banana loaves I’ve made.
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I love banana breads of all kinds! I have been toying with going sour, but have hesitated given the space constraints in my fridge. Kinder on stomachs would be a good motivation though ….
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I keep a very small amount of starter, and feed it twice before baking. That way I don’t have a fridge full of gloop.
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oooh, that is such a good idea. You are making this sour proposition better and better.
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This looks super good and reminds me of my grandmother. ❤
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Your bread looks delicious.
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Thank you so much!
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