A popular bakery that we love to visit in the mall is Andersen Bakery. The bakery is very popular for their pastries, sandwiches and freshly baked bread. Among the different varieties that are sold there, Walnut bread is my favorite. This was the bread that I challenged myself to recreate. Having no luck in finding a walnut bread recipe similar to AB's online, I decided to come up with my own recipe. My solution was to add walnuts to a basic bread recipe. Took me 4 tries before I felt it was close to the original one. My niece is a big fan of the bread too. Here is what she had to say about the bread.
On Sun, Jun 10, 2012 at 8:09 PM, Nethra wrote:
WALNUT BREAD
Last Tuesday was the day before my final exams. In other words, it was the most worrisome day of my existence.
That might be a slight exaggeration.
Regardless, I was incredibly tired and stressed, plagued with a splitting headache, and being forced to pore over pages of algebraic equations and chemical properties into the night.
I'd take residence in my aunt's bedroom (you probably know her as the Foody Guru behind your favorite blog) in order to escape the distracting allure of my laptop and the commotion exploding in my own household.
Somewhere between reading about gas laws and memorizing the periodic table, I went downstairs, delicately pressing the bridge of my nose and sighing in dramatic exasperation.
And then, it happened.
It revealed itself before my eyes.
My aunt pulled the bread out of the oven, laid it out across the faded brown wood of her cutting board. I immediately dropped everything and padded over to the kitchen counter as if I was entering a temple. A temple created solely for the walnut bread.
It was beautiful. I wanted to run my fingertips against the dark brown ridges of the top and revel in its beauty. The loaf was round, crusty, and warm, the comforting scent of toasted walnuts permeating the air. She pressed her knife into the loaf, tugging it back and forth, the crackling sound of fresh baked bread tinkling like bells in my ear.
My eyes were wide, my breath hushed (partially questioning why on Earth I was this excited over a loaf of walnut bread).
The first slice fell off, a burst of walnut flavored steam swirling through the air. I reached out to take the hot bread off the cutting board, before biting into the bread.
It was.
Perfection.
My teeth sunk into the incredibly soft bread, studded with walnuts. The crust was hot and crunchy, a perfect counterpart to the sponge-y bread. It had a slight wheat taste, cradling it in my head, inhaling the walnut perfume.
The headache and stress I'd had ten minutes ago? Gone, evaporated into the air with the perfect nutty steam of my aunt's walnut bread.
Gadgets:
Mixing Bowl
Electric Mixer ( with dough attachment)
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Damp Kitchen Towel
Baking Tray or Pizza stone
Spray container with water or a oven safe bowl with water
Bread Flour - 3 cups or 3 1/3 cup - All purpose flour if using loaf pans makes 2 loafs.
Warm Water - 1cup
Warm Milk - 1/2 cup
Yeast - 1 Tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Honey - 3 Tbsp
Oil - 1 1/2 Tbsp plus extra 1 tbsp or butter 2 tbsp
Chopped Walnuts - 3/4 cup
1. In the mixing bowl add water, milk yeast and honey. Give it a mix and let it stand for 10 minutes. (Notable Tip: Before adding honey, spread some oil in the spoon and then add honey, it will come out clean).
2. In another bowl combine flour and salt well and set aside.
3. Add 1/2 cup of flour to the liquid mix and mix well. Then add the remaining flour a little by little. Attach the dough hook and knead the dough for 5 minutes until they come together, but still sticky.
4. Add walnuts little at a time and allow it to spread evenly throughout the dough.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a counter coated with some flour. Knead the bread a few minutes to make sure that the walnuts are distributed well.
6. Add oil and melted butter to a bowl and spread well. Add the dough and coat it well. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rest in a warm area for 45 minutes or until the dough doubles.
7. Set the oven at 375 degrees F. If using the pizza stone, heat the stone too.
8. Before transferring the dough to the oven sprinkle some corn meal and then place the dough on top. If u are baking in a loaf pan. Split the dough into two parts and evenly distribute the dough. Cover with damp kitchen cloth and allow it to rest. The dough will double again. Place it in the oven.
9. Place a bowl of water in the oven along with the bread on the side. Bake for about 30-35 minutes.
soft and lovely walnut bread.loved the post!
ReplyDeleteNice bread,walnuts would hv definitely added a crunch to d bread
ReplyDeletewow.. looks incredible and tempting..
ReplyDeleteWalnuts are a favourite. And within that delicous looking bread! Heaven!
ReplyDeleteVery yummy bread
ReplyDeleteWow wat a super nutty bread, cant wait to try soon.
ReplyDeletewow nice bread recipe. bookmarked
ReplyDeleteNice pics.. and looks like a do-able recipe. Will try one of these days.
ReplyDeleteYummy n nutty bread..looks too good
ReplyDeleteI loved the idea of having walnuts in a bread and I am so tempted to try your recipe this weekend itself! Your neice's description of the whole episode was so wonderful, really enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDelete- Priti
You have become an expert in baking bread dear..bread looks super soft with crunchy walnuts,Delicious with a cup of tea:-)
ReplyDeleteOngoing Events at(Erivum Puliyum)-
1. The Kerala Kitchen(June'12)
2.EP Series-Basil OR Cardamom
Walnut bread looks delicious and perfect.
ReplyDeleteLooks yum
ReplyDeletehttp://followfoodie.com/
Walnut bread looking perfect....
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Do visit my space in your spare time..
http://eezy-kitchen.blogspot.com/
Love that wonderful texture.
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