Fig and Walnut Loaf

I’ve always thought figs were strange. I think it must be something to do with their texture. When someone asks me to describe the taste of a fig, the only answer I can come up with is “just try one”.

While I love figs, I don’t have the coin to go out to buy fresh whenever I feel like, remember, government salary here, so I tend to just opt for the dried variety that you can find in any supermarket.

I am also a fan of wee cheeseboard every know and again, and there are three stables on every cheeseboard I make; Figs, Walnuts and Bread. While I love the taste combination of all three, I cannot go around carrying a full on cheeseboard, well I guess I could but it would look very strange.

That’s where this scrumptious fig and walnut loaf comes into play. It’s basically a mobile cheeseboard. Actually I really should think about adding cheese into it. I’ll have to keep that idea in mind for the future, what out for an update on that….

 

• Servings: 1 Loaf
• Time: 2 hour, 20 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

150g Toasted Walnuts, diced

100g Dried Figs, diced

300g Plain Flour

200g Wholemeal Flour

350g Water, room temperature

10g Salt

20g Yeast

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220ºC.
2.Soak the walnuts and the figs in the 350g water for 10 minutes.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine both flours, salt and yeast with a dough hook attachment.
3. Drain walnuts and figs, reserve water.
4. Add water to dry ingredients, knead for 10 minutes to develop gluten.
5. Place dough in a greased bowl and place in a warm spot for 30 minutes to proof. Knock back dough and return to bowl for a further 20 minutes.
6. Fold in walnuts and figs.
7. Shape into a oval and place on a floured baking tray. Let proof for 20 minutes.
8. Bake for 20 minutes until cooked. Let cool.