Years ago when we lived in Austin, I would buy a particular walnut onion bread to use for sandwiches. It had so much flavor I never imagined I could make anything as good at home. Then I discovered this recipe from James Beard called Jane Grigson's Walnut Bread from Southern Burgundy. It has just as much flavor as the Central Market bread, but maybe a bit lighter in texture -- almost like a brioche. I've been making it ever since.
Beard on Bread Loaf Size
The recipe originated from James Beard's book Beard on Bread, where he credits Jane Grigson who calls it Walnut Bread from Southern Burgundy. At one point Mary at One Perfect Bite posted the larger yield James Beard version which calls for 5 cups of flour. Jim made it into 4 loaves. I make half of his recipe and make 2 loaves. The loaves are on the smaller side, but that works out well since the texture is so light and delicate. You can use it for certain sandwiches, but because it's so light it's best served with a little butter or made into toast.
Older Photos of Walnut Bread and Baking Temp
Above is an old picture where I left walnuts and onions on the outside of the loaf. Because the loaves bake at 400 degrees, any walnuts and onions on the outside could burn, so you may need to shield the loaves somewhat to prevent that. It seems like I needed to in my old oven, but I haven't had that issue in my new one. Also, if you just encase the walnuts and onions in the dough as in the photos below you can avoid any burning. These loaves have kind of a weird shape because I forgot the oil and had to add it in after I'd started kneading. But this shows you the size of the loaves before and after rising.
Walnut Oil and Flavor
One thing I’ve learned over the years is the flavor will vary a bit depending on what brand of walnut oil you use. I love using the stronger walnut oils such as La Tourangelle, but milder flavored Spectrum also works. If you don't have or don't want to use walnut oil, you can use melted butter or olive oil. This will change the flavor quite a bit, but not in a bad way.
Instant Yeast vs Active Dry
I almost always make this with instant yeast. When using instant yeast, the liquid (milk in this case) needs to be between 120 and 130 degrees. If you substitute active dry yeast, you'll need to heat the milk only to 115 degrees and dissolve the yeast in ¾ cup of it.
Walnut Burgundy Bread Tips
James Beard used raw onions, but I took the advice of a reader now I always cook the onions in a little olive oil. And if you want to leave the onions out, feel free! The bread is great without them (and better with peanut butter toast). Speaking of toast, toasting the walnuts is not necessary, but you can toast them anyway if you like. And finally, if you'd like a non-dairy version, you can use hazelnut milk or almond milk. The bread in the photo below was made with unsweetened hazelnut milk.
Gluten-Free Walnut Bread
You can now make this with King Arthur's Gluten-Free Bread Flour Blend! King Arthur's product is a new flour blend that unlike most gluten-free blends, works well in yeast bread. I had the gluten-free version in the recipe card, but I took it off and am going to give it its own page. If you've been using the gluten-free recipe and came here looking for it, let me know and I'll get it up sooner.
Recipe
Walnut Bread from Southern Burgundy
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour or bread flour (320 grams) plus more if needed
- 1 ¼ teaspoons Kosher salt, Morton which measures like table
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 cup milk heated to 125 degrees (for instant yeast)
- ¼ cup walnut oil or olive oil or 4 tablespoons butter melted but cool
- ½ cup walnuts roughly chopped -- use more if you like (I use way more)
- ½ cup onion finely chopped
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the yeast and stir well.
- Pour ¾ cup of the warm milk in middle of the flour, then add the walnut oil (or butter). Stir dough and if it seems very dry, add remaining milk. If you weighed the flour, you should end up using the full cup.
- Knead well until dough is firm and blended into a smooth, springy ball, about 10 minutes. I recommend doing this with a stand mixer and dough hook.
- Transfer to a bowl lined with walnut oil (or whatever oil you like), cover and let rise for 1 hour (longer if you are not using instant yeast).
- While the dough is rising, saute the onions in a small amount of olive oil. Set them aside until dough has risen.
- Punch down dough, mix in walnuts and onions, shape into two rounds, and leave on a greased baking tray to rise for 45 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees F for 35 minutes. (I recommend shielding tops loosely with foil after the first 20) or until loaves sound hollow when tapped underneath. Internal temperature of baked bread should be 200 or slightly over. Yield: 2 small loaves
Anna says
Marv, if you're a bread baker you should give this recipe a try. Central Market's might have been a tad darker, but this one has a similar flavor.
Marv says
The photo doesn't look as dark and rich as the loaves I used to purchase at Central Market in Dallas. Sadly, they don't make SBWB anymore, even for special order. I believe I was told the onions were caramelized. Maybe that was the source of the darker color. It is certainly a delicious bread! I miss it so much.
Mary says
I stopped by to thank you for the link to my blog and to wish you a happy New Year. I hope 2011 brings you continued health and happiness. Blessings...Mary
Melissa says
This sounds interesting! I'll have to try i!
Jennifer JW says
So weird, I just bought "Beard on Bread" last night! Tonight I'm making the very first recipe, as it's the one for which he gives the most explicit directions.
I finished school in December and suddenly have all this free time and really like to bake in the winter. I've decided to concentrate on making bread, as the ingredients are usually cheap and I don't have the "feel" for making yeast doughs the way I do batters and doughs.
Anyway, long story short, once I get a little practice in with simple (cheap) loaves, I'll definitely try your version of the walnut onion bread, as it looks delicious!
Katrina says
Sounds good--minus the onions for me. 🙁 But I love nuts in bread.
Amy at TheSceneFromMe says
Ahh, that bread looks divine. I just need a big slab of butter on my slice, warmed!
Happy New Year!
Anna says
Sue, one of my kid tasters refused to eat it because she didn't like the texture of cooked onion in bread. Maybe that's why you stopped making it? Fuzz loved it as is.
Anna says
Hi Mike,
Thanks! I don't have the original version -- just the version I picked up on the Internet years ago (which didn't have a source).
My version does have more walnuts and onions and that's how I like it. In fact, sometimes I think I could use a few more walnuts. The onions I use are Texas Sweet and probably fairly mild, so the bread doesn't seem overwhelming with 1/3 cup. I love your idea of using sauteed onions, though.
I'll go ahead and add a note about the original version add-ins.
Yes, I use twice the amount of walnuts and it still seems like it could use more. As for the onion, I like your idea of
Louise says
I, too, have made this recipe many times. Beard on Bread has many tasty recipes. 🙂
Sue says
Oops. Mike is right about the walnuts and onions being slightly different amounts.
Sue says
I have Beard on Bread and that is indeed half the recipe. My notes indicate that I've made this and we liked it. I wonder why I forgot about it? It's probably kid related. When my kids were young they wouldn't touch things with nuts in them so I probably stopped making it because of that. Thanks for bringing that back to my attention!
MikeW says
I had already reached for my "Beard on Bread" before clicking through.
This version has twice the amount of walnut & slightly less onion than Beard's recipe.
I haven't made this in a while. Strong onion can overwhelm the bread's flavor. Choose a mild onion -- also, I've liked the results with lightly sauteed onion in this bread.