Friday, October 16, 2009

Yeasted Walnut Bread from Southern Burgundy - World Bread Day


Today is World Bread Day and I almost - almost - forgot. I'm sneaking under the wire with a yeasted walnut bread from Southern Burgundy that was developed by Jane Grigson, an English food writer. She was a good friend of James Beard and had the unique honor of having her work translated into French. That was an uncommon occurrence 40 years ago. I've had her recipe for decades and never made it for want of walnut oil. Fortunately, I've remedied that and was able to make the bread for this event. The bread is simple to do, and while it's a bit costly to make, it is delicious. The only change I would make is to increase the measure of walnuts used in the bread. I can't wait to see how it tastes tomorrow after it's had time to ripen. This recipe makes 4 small loaves of a bread that is flavored with onions, chopped walnuts and walnut oil. The aroma of this bread when it is baking will bring you to your knees and the trick will be allowing it to cool before you slice into it. The bread has a lovely crust and a very mild onion flavor. Here, just in time for World Bread Day, is Jane Grigson's Yeasted Walnut Bread from Southern Burgundy. Enjoy!

Yeasted Walnut Bread from Southern Burgundy...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Jane Grigson from James Beard's Beard on Bread

Ingredients:
5 cups all purpose flour (preferably unbleached)
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 packages active dry yeast or 4-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm milk
1/2 cups walnut oil or olive oil or 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted but cool
1/2 to 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
3/4 cup onion, finely chopped

Directions:
1) Sift flour, salt, and sugar into a warm bowl. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm milk, and pour it into middle of the flour, together with walnut oil (or butter) and remainder of milk. Knead well until dough is firm and blended into a smooth, springy ball, about 10 minutes.
2) Leave in a warm place to rise for 2 hours. Punch down dough, mix in walnuts and onions, shape into four rounds, and leave on a greased baking tray to rise for 45 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped underneath. Yield: 4 small loaves.

This post is being linked to:

World Bread Day

Wild Yeast - Yeast Spotting

13 comments :

Deb in Hawaii said...

Your bread looks delicious!

Rachel said...

the walnuts must be a nice bite....

Elle said...

That is a lovely loaf...you can see the slight pink that the walnuts sometimes give to bread. I'll bet it was really difficult to wait for it to cool :)

❀~Myrna~❀ said...

I love walnuts, the bread looks delicious.
~Myrna Lee

Unknown said...

Such a beautiful photo of such a beautiful bread! I didn't know it was world bread day and now I have missed it! O well, I did have lovely bread on Friday!
jane Grigson is a favourite food write of mine.
Thankyou!

Coleens Recipes said...

I love bread with a nice thick crust, your's looks delicious.

Claudia said...

I made bread but no time to post except on Examiner. Yours looks so scrumptious- I want to eat it off the computer screen.

noble pig said...

It sounds perfectly delicious, I love the use of walnut oil in here.

My Little Space said...

Such a lovely bake and bread with walnut always goes well together!

Katy ~ said...

Beautiful crumb! With the addition of the walnut oil, a special loaf indeed.

Stefanie said...

Your Walnut bread sounds delicious, I like the Idea of comining onion and walnuts.

zorra said...

I'm very glad you didn't forget. Wonderful loaf!

Thank you for your participation in World Bread Day 2009. Yes you baked! :-)

Boonk Close To Heaven said...

I made this today. The loaves came out PERFECT. Thanks for the recipe.

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