Walnut Bread from Southern Burgundy
You can make this as one large loaf or two smaller ones.
Servings 12 people
Cost 5
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