Some of the best toast ever
Seriously, fresh from the toaster with butter and cinnamon sugar or cream cheese-yes, and butter-Oh!, what a treat.
Sometimes you feel…
Yeah, no almonds here, but lots of nuts. Walnuts specifically, which technically are stones of fruit and not a nut, but that’s another blog post.
Jump to Recipe
Walnuts are probably my most favorite nut. Yes, convention is easier. It was not always so, but I am happy it is now. They’ve a richness I enjoy and a bitterness too. Bitter isn’t a taste everyone detects and among those who do, it is not universally appreciated, but man, I do like it.
Walnuts eaten alone also have an interesting drying effect on the palate. As it happens, walnuts have tannins. They make your teeth feel dry, similar to the effect of a dry red wine. Those tannins are mostly in the thin skin on the meat of the nut. That’s a good reason to eat walnuts with fatty things such as cookies or buttered toast.
Sometimes you bake
This bread was sent to me by one who very much wanted it for her sandwiches for work. I’ve tweaked it to get what I thought was just right and this is that.
I use a heavy gauge bread ban from Chicago Metallic. I use the Commercial II size as it holds more dough for a larger loaf. This pan is very sturdy, keeps it’s shape, has an efficient and uniform transfer of heat and is a touch more expensive than the flimsy pans from the grocery store. If you plan on baking even a loaf a month, I feel it is well worth a proper pan. This link to an Amazon page has some choices. I am an affiliate with Amazon. That means when you purchase through this link I earn a commission at no cost to you.
Walnut Bread
A rich, nutty sandwich bread which also makes great toast.
Ingredients
Walnut bread ingredients
- 280 g Water
- 75 g Maple syrup
- 100 g Whole, unsalted butter
- 164 g Old fashioned oats, pulsed in food processor Not instant or quick coooking
- 95 g Whole wheat flour
- 266 g Bread flour
- 9 g Salt
- 9 g Instant yeast
- 125 g Toasted, chopped walnuts the toastier the tastier-but don't burn
- 50 g Starter or old bread dough
Instructions
Mix the dough
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Heat oven to 375° F. Chop cooled walnuts into small but not tiny pieces. Butter the inside of the bread pan and a stainless steel bowl.
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Combine all the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and turn on to low speed. Mix for 4 minutes.
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The dough may appear a bit shaggy but will start to come together at the end of the first mix.
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Turn the speed to medium (4 on a KitchenAid) and mix another 4 minutes.
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The dough should be well mixed. If you've a smaller mixer you may need to push the dough back into the bowl with the end of a wooden spoon. No finger, please!
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Remove the dough from the mixing bowl, shape it round to form a seam at the bottom and place it seem side down into a lightly buttered bowl large enough to hold it as it ferments.
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Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 40 minutes.
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After time, lift the dough out and stretch it twice its size. Return the ends together, turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. Do this 4 times so the dough comes full circle. Return to the fermenting bowl for another 40 minutes.
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After time, gently turn dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and fold for a sandwich loaf. It will make a fine free form round loaf or baguettes if you prefer. In those cases, don't forget to score the bread before you bake it.
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Let the dough proof in the sandwich loaf pan until it crests the top of the pan by an inch. Place into the hot oven, reduce the temperature to 350° F and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the thump test produces the hollow sound. Be careful getting the hot loaf out of a hot pan.
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Return the depanned loaf to the oven to bake an additional 5 mintues to give the sides some strength. Remove the bread to a cooling rack and wait. Wait wait wait.
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After at least 20 minutes it is okay to cut the bread. Slap a good amount of butter on the end piece and tell everyone how horrible it is and you must eat it all. Alone.
Recipe Notes
You can absolutely replace the whole wheat flour with the more rustic country wheat which is much more coarse. That will change your water needs so keep an eye on the consistency. A touch too wet is better than too dry.
I suppose this bread freezes okay, but I don’t know. We simply eat it too quickly.
12.19.2022. I have a gluten-free walnut bread, but not sourced from this one. It might be possible to change to a gluten-free flour, but without testing any, I would probably advise against that.
What else to do?
Also, I’ve not tried it as French Toast, but it should be amazing with the walnuts and rich crumb. Some top notch Maple syrup and bacon and that’s a breakfast fit for a king.
I have made a griddled cheese sandwich and that was so good. Next time I think a good Gouda-a gouda Gouda-would be excellent.
Eat up and enjoy the sammiches.
My recipe file has almost all my posted recipes, including some good dips and spreads.
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