Fig and Walnut Bread

The last time I went to buy a loaf of artisan bread, I couldn't believe the price. One of our favourites is the fig bread from Terra Breads at Granville Island. It’s a treat, but it sets us back a big chunk of change. Paying more than $5 for a loaf of bread just seems wrong.

Way back when it was “only” $3 a loaf, I started looking for something I could bake at home for cheaper. I came across this recipe in a Martha Stewart magazine. It was a while back because the recipe is yellowed with age. Mostly, I have found that Martha has great photos but the recipes tend to not work out very well. It was a pleasant surprise then, that this recipe is so good. I mean it’s not an exact replica of Terra Breads’ loaf, but it is yummy in its own right.

It goes great with soup. And makes a great breakfast the next morning, slathered in butter.

Just a word of caution - those walnuts and figs will try their darndest to pop out of the dough. Make them stay in, whatever it takes.

Walnut Fig Bread
1/14 cups lukewarm water
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rye flour
2 cups dried Calimyrna figs, chopped (10 oz)
2 tbsp coarse salt
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (4 oz)

Stir sugar into warm water until dissolved. Add yeast and stir.
Let stand until foamy. About 5 minutes.
(I microwave this for 8 seconds to “get it going” as Auntie Fran used to say.)

Mix flours, 1 cup of figs and salt in a bowl.
Mix in yeast mixture by hand or with bread attachment on your kitchen machine.
Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes, by hand)
Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with a layer of plastic wrap and cover with a towel.
Let rise in a warm place until doubled. About an hour.

Flatten the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Scatter the walnuts and figs on top.
Press them into the dough, then fold the dough over to envelop them.
continue to fold over and over until the figs and nuts are uniformly distributed. Be persistent. Incorporating the figs and nuts is a bit like playing whack-a-mole. T
Shape dough into a ball with a rounded top and seams tucked underneath
Let dough rise another 40 minutes.
Bake @ 375º  for about 50-60 minutes.
Cool before slicing. If you can.

See the baby bottle to the left? Squeak was visiting and I got a bit distracted whilst making the bread. The result is that the pictures aren't great. Or plentiful. Babies take a lot of attention.  This picture is intended to show using the dough hook to mix the ingredients together.

Nuts and figs. I get the figs in big bags at Costco. Then I slice them into slivers even though the recipe says chopped.  I like the taste of that shape better. I also think the square half of the sandwich tastes better.

After the first rising, place dough on a board and pat flat. Then put figs and nuts on top to start incorporating.

I've never tried folding in the nuts and figs with a dough hook. I suspect the figs and nuts retain their shape better if you use the fold and turn method: fold dough in half, rotate 90º and fold again. Rotate and fold. 
Continue until the bits are incorporated into the dough.
Be persistent. Those little nuts and figs will try and jump out of the dough.

I don't know if you can tell, but during the last rising Krista stopped by and took half the dough home. She cooked her half and I cooked mine.
It's a dense loaf, so make sure you cook it for an hour or so. If the top starts to burn, cover it with tin foil.