Black Walnut Date Brunch Bread for the holidays has all the exotic scents and spices along with the ancient sweetness from dates.
Brunch Bread?
I can think of a gazillion reasons why we need a holiday breakfast bread for brunch, starting with ‘Just Because’!
Do we gather for brunch everyday? No, we gather for brunch for special occasions and for lingered moments with special people.
Especially for these reasons, don’t you think we need a unique bread to go along with a carefully planned menu?
Black Walnuts
The first time I ever tasted black walnuts, I knew I had stumbled onto a nut so uniquely different from all other nuts.
Black walnuts grow wild and have an earthy, bittersweet, somewhat exotic taste.
I first encountered them in the black walnut cookies my Swedish grandmother made.
Black Walnuts – The Healthier Walnut
The flavor was so unlike all the nuts I grew up eating from my Syrian-American mother.
Since I rarely find black walnuts in the store, except for the months surrounding the winter holidays, I knew I had to create a bread recipe with them.
Actually, this bread has more healthy nutrients than any other bread you will eat throughout your holiday brunch gatherings.
Black Walnut Date Brunch Bread
What makes this bread healthier? Well, dates, for starters, are loaded with fiber, antioxidants and aid in improving our digestive system, and boy are they sweet!
Pairing the dates, which remind me of an ancient Middle Eastern fruit, with black walnuts made the bread seem extra special.
Having family come home to stay for the holidays, always means a lingering brunch with some of my favorite recipes.
It isn’t often that we get to spoil our family once they grow up and no longer live at home, so a Brunch Bread seemed like a way to spoil them at home.
The Exotic Flavor Of Black Walnuts
The flavor of black walnuts, is almost aromatic and exotic. The levels of antioxidants and polyunsaturated fatty acids are higher in the black walnut than the English walnut we all know and love.
If these are reasons alone to make this the bread of choice, given that dates are great in reducing heart and blood sugar issues; there’s more.
Healthy Sweet Brunch Bread
Oat flour added to the all purpose flour in this bread recipe is just my way of adding another element of healthy excuses to indulge in this delicious holiday bread.
Oat flour is loaded with a healthy RDI (recommended daily intake), of manganese and phosphorus.
Date and Nut Yeast Bread
This is a yeast bread, but don’t let that scare you. Working with yeast dough is not much different than playing with Play Doh.
The only trick you need to remember when mixing the dough is to just add enough flour so the dough is no longer sticky.
It rises in about 90 minutes and bakes in 20 minutes.
Other Brunch Bread Recipes To Love
When I was in my teens, I first learned how to make yeast breads. What a game changer that was for me.
Once I realized that yeast bread is nothing more than some type of flour and liquid, squished together into a dough, there was no limit to what I would make.
Why? I realized the the yeast does all the work, all I have to do is mix it! Here are just a few of my favorites.
- Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Bread
- Beetroot Spinach Bread Braid
- Cranberry Almond Yeast Bread
- Spelt Potato Bread
How To Make Black Walnut Date Brunch Bread
This bread is really easy to make, once you get over the apprehension of working with yeast dough.
First the dough is assembled, and because of the eggs, sugar and crushed nuts, the dough rises quickly.
Once the dough rises and becomes double in size, simply roll it out, lay chopped dates and black walnuts on top of the dough. Roll it up and bake the loaf until golden in color.
Equipment Needed
- Large mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon – which I find works better with yeast dough than metal
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Food processor or blender – to grind the nuts and oats
- Baking sheet pan
- Cutting board
- Chopping knife
- Basting brush – for the egg wash glaze
- Oven
Ingredients Needed
- Milk – your choice
- Sugar
- Butter
- Eggs
- Yeast
- Black walnuts
- Dates
- Oat flour – or oats to grind
- All purpose flour
- Cardamom
- Salt
Black Walnut Date Brunch Bread
Ingredients
- Milk – 1 cup, your choice
- Sugar – 1/2 cup
- Butter – 3 tablespoons
- Egg – 1, plus 1 for egg wash (or can brush with milk)
- Yeast – 2 teaspoons
- Black walnuts – 1 cup rough chopped, 1/2 cup crushed to a powder
- Dates – 10, pitted and rough chopped
- Oat flour – 1/2 cup
- All purpose flour – 3 cups, more for dusting
- Cardamom – 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt – 1 teaspoon
Instructions
- Place sugar, 1/2 cup milk and butter in a sauce pan and dissolve the sugar on low, stirring. Remove from stove and add remaining milk and let cool.
- In a large bowl pour cooled milk mixture, whisk in one egg and stir in the yeast. Let sit a moment to dissolve yeast.
- Add 1/2 cup crushed black walnuts, oat flour, cardamom, salt and stir. Slowly stir in all purpose flour until it becomes stiff. With your hands, work in the remaining flour until it is no longer sticky. Cover and let rise 1 1/2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375. On a floured surface, roll out the risen dough to a rectangle. Sprinkle the dates and 1 cup of rough chopped black walnuts across the dough, leaving the edges free of dates and nuts.
- For egg wash, simply place the egg in a cup, whisk 1 teaspoon of water. Brush the edges of the dough with egg wash. Roll the dough with dates and nuts inside, into a log. Place on a non-stick baking sheet or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush egg wash across the exposed areas of the dough.
- Bake 18 – 20 minutes or until golden on top. Cool and slice.
Nutrition
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.
