Fig Cranberry & Walnut Bread
Servings: 14 slices
This fig cranberry and walnut bread is packed with fruits and walnuts. Delicious slathered in butter or served with cheese.
INGREDIENTS LIST
- 350 ml warm water
- 20 g fresh yeast (7g dried yeast)
- 400 g white bread flour
- 100 g wholemeal bread flour
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 60 g dried figs (cut into quarters)
- 60 g dried cranberries
- 60 g walnuts
Preparation
- Yeast: Dissolve the yeast in body temperature 37°C (98°F) warm water. Let it stand for about five minutes. This is known as the sponge method.
- Dough: In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, gently mix together the flours, salt, dried fruits and walnuts.
- Add the yeast liquid and the olive oil to the dry ingredients. Mix the dough for approximately 1 minute. (You can also use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook for this part if you wish.) Place the dough in a clean, oiled bowl and leave to stand in a warm spot for 20 minutes, covered with a clean damp cloth.
- Kneading: After the dough has rested a little, flour a work surface and tip the dough out onto it. Officially, this is where the dough needs to be Kneaded for 8-10 minutes until smooth. For this specific bread I don't tend to worry about kneading it so much. I generally give it a knead for about a minute to create a nice round dough ball and place it back in the clean oiled bowl.
- Proving: Cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove in a warm place until doubled in size. For me, this usually takes 45-60 minutes in a warm environment. Sometimes I also place it in the oven with the oven turned off and only the light on.
- Line a baking tray with baking / parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Once risen, place the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knock the dough back by folding it in on itself repeatedly for about a minute. Then shape the dough into a ball. Dust your baking tray lightly with flour and place the dough ball in the centre. Dust the top of the bread dough with a little flour and leave to prove again for an hour in a warm place until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 220°C / 200°C fan / 425°F / Gas 7.
- Once the dough has risen, Use a very sharp knife, to make a cross in the top of the dough in a quick motion. Doing this quickly, the knife wont get caught in the dough and you will have nice neat lines.
- Steam: To help the loaf rise and get a good crust, I like to create a little steam at the beginning of the baking process. To do this, I place a heat resistant dish or baking pan filled with 1 cup of boiled water on the bottom shelf of the oven prior to adding the bread.
- Baking: Place the loaf on the middle shelf and bake for 20-25 minutes. The loaf should be a nice golden brown, sometimes a little dark, but this is ideal to get a good crust.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
