Seed, Nut and Fruit Bread

Adapted from Dean Brettschneider’s, Kiwi Baker at Home

From the xoxo Dorie newsletter

https://doriegreenspan.substack.com/p/seed-nut-fruit-bread-simple-pretty

Makes one loaf that serves about 10, depending on how you slice it

GOOD TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START

Sniff, taste, then bake: Nuts are notorious for going rancid, and even a couple of
spoiled nuts can ruin whatever you’re baking. Make sure to smell your nuts and then
taste them before you use them. Once the oils in the nuts have gone off, there’s
nothing to do to save them. No, toasting won’t rescue them. And while you’re at it,
sniff your oil, too. I store nuts in the freezer and seeds, which are not as sensitive, in
the fridge. Still, I sniff and taste before I measure, chop and bake — you can’t be too
careful here.

Measuring: Because you can use so many different kinds of seeds, nuts and dried
fruit, volume measures (meaning American cups) don’t really work — 1 cup of
chopped dried apricots is very different from 1 cup of currants or dried cranberries.
I’ve given you APPROXIMATE cup measures, but if you’ve got a scale, please use it.

The seeds: I used what I had in the freezer — and yes, even I was amazed that I had
such a selection. I used flax, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, millet and chia.

The nuts: Again, I used what I had and it was a really nice mix — walnuts, pecans and
whole almonds with their skins. I also made the loaf once with pine nuts in the mix.
Hazelnuts would have been good (if Michael only liked them). Even Brazil nuts or
cashews or pistachios. I chopped the almonds, walnuts and pecans in half.

The fruit: I used dried cranberries — mine were wizened, so I soaked them in hot
water for half a minute and then patted them dry. Raisins or currants would be good
as would larger dried fruit, like apricots, pears, apples or prunes. If you choose large
fruit, snip or chop it into small pieces.

The loaf pan: Choose an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3 -inch pan with a capacity of 1 1/2 liters (fill
the pan with water to find its volume). You could use a pan that’s a tad smaller
(you’ll have to adjust the baking time), but I don’t suggest a larger pan. (Of course,
given the choice between using a pan that’s slightly off or not making the recipe,
making the recipe wins. Always.)

Testing for doneness: The tests that you might usually use to tell if something is
baked — such as pressing the top or sticking a skewer into the center — don’t really
work with this loaf. The best test is temperature. If you don’t have an instant-read
thermometer (I like a Thermapen for jobs like this), you can go with timing and
tester.

INGREDIENTS

 A scant 400 grams seeds (see above) — for me, this was approximately

 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds

 2/3 cup sunflower seeds
 1/2 cup flaxseeds
 1/3 cup chia seeds
 1/4 cup millet seeds
 About 150 grams nuts (see above for my mix) — for me this was
approximately 1 cup chopped nuts
 About 80 grams plump, moist dried fruit (see above) — for me this was
approximately 2/3 cup dried cranberries
 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
 1 tablespoon honey
 100 ml oil, I used canola, but you could use avocado or olive oil
 DIRECTIONS
 Working in a large bowl, mix the seeds, nuts, fruit and salt together. Gradually
stir in the eggs, mixing to moisten all the ingredients, followed by the honey
and oil. Set the bowl aside, stirring now and then — you want to make sure
that the liquid that seeps to the bottom early on is eventually absorbed by the
fruit, nuts and seeds. This takes about 20 minutes, so preheat the oven and
prep your pan while you’re waiting.
 Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 325 degrees F. Lightly oil, butter or
spray an 8 1/2-inch loaf pan — see above. Line the bottom and long sides of
the pan with parchment.
 When all the liquid has been absorbed, scrape the mixture (it’s not really a
dough, is it?) into the pan, leveling it and smoothing the top as best as you
can. Don’t press the mixture down — just get it into the pan, cajole it into the
corners, get the top kind of even and call it quits.
 Bake the loaf until an instant thermometer inserted into the middle of the
bread reads 190 to 200 degrees F, between 50 and 60 minutes (see above).
With this bread, it’s best not to go over 200 degrees F. Transfer the pan to a
rack, let the bread rest for 5 minutes and then lift it out, remove the paper
and allow it to come to room temperature on the rack.
 You can cut the bread when it’s just warm and of course it'll be tasty, but it
cuts most easily and has the best texture when it’s completely cool. The bread
is dense – it’s one of its nicest qualities – so it’s good to cut it into thin slices.
 Cut and taste and see what you like. You might even like it toasted or griddled
in butter.
 STORING: Wrapped well, the bread will keep for at least 5 days at room
temperature and for up to 2 months in the freezer. It’s nice to slice the bread
and then freeze it; defrost in the wrapper.

https://doriegreenspan.substack.com