I had a sudden urge to make bread – that happens, sometimes – but didn’t have many ingredients at home.
There was a bag of walnuts that would go rancid pretty soon unless I used them – and that’s what I did.
I used a recipe from a Brazilian website and, instead of filling the bread with apricots and jam, I used brown sugar and chopped walnuts.
The dough is soft and comes together really quickly. I liked it so much I want to make it again, using apple and cinnamon for filling - can’t wait to try it.
Walnut braided bread
Dough:
240ml lukewarm milk
15g fresh yeast
6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
500g all-purpose flour, sifted
1 egg, lightly beaten
75g unsalted butter, softened
Filling:
80g brown sugar
100g walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon milk - to brush the bread
Grease and flour a 28cm X 40cm baking sheet.
For the filling: mix both ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
For the dough: pour the milk in a bowl, add the yeast, sugar and salt and stir. Add 120g of the flour and mix until the mixture is uniform.
Cover with cling film or a piece of plastic and let it rise, in a warm place, for 40 minutes.
Add the egg and the butter to the dough and mix well. Add the remaining flour gradually and knead for 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic – it will not be sticky.
Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with cling film/plastic and let it rise, in a warm place, for 25 minutes – it will double in size.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough making a 35cm X 45cm rectangle. Divide this rectangle in 3 equal parts. Brush each part with just a little water and sprinkle with 1/3 of the filling. Roll each part as if they were jelly rolls, pinching the seams to “lock” the filling inside.
Place the three rolls of dough on the prepared baking sheet, placing the seams down – a detail I forgot. :)
Braid the rolls and pinch the ends together.
Let it rise again for 30 minutes – 10 minutes before you bake the bread, pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Brush the bread with milk and bake it for 40 minutes or until it’s golden and cooked through – if it starts browning too fast, cover loosely with foil.
Makes 12 slices - I got a 1.050g bread.
23 comments:
Patricia, what a beautiful looking loaf of bread! The braiding makes it look quite elegant.
Isn't it fun how shaping bread changes everything! What a yummy looking insides.
Excellent bread and it seems it has a future with you also - that's a winner.
Patricia, that looks amazing!! I only recently started baking bread from scratch. It's so soothing and it smells so heavenly while it's cooking.
Walnuts and brown sugar! I bet that tastes fantastic. And I love the photos, especially the one the shows the insides of the bread. I bet some apple butter would go great with this. :)
Ari (Baking and Books)
For a sudden urge, that sure came out beautifully! I think you found the perfect combination just waiting in your kitchen cupboard!
Everytime I want to make bread I never seem to have the ingredients either.
It looks great though, I like the use of the walnuts and brown sugar.
That looks like a gorgeous loaf of bread. Very pretty and delicious looking! Nice job!
This looks great Patricia! I've never made braided bread before, yours look fantastic!
Oh Darling!!! The bread is so beautiful! And I like any sweet bread consisting a lot of milk, yes, just like this one!
I got to make it, sound too delicious, too good to miss! I have a lot of appricot and jam at home, but your apple / walnut idea is so splendid... mmm, hard to choose...
What a wonderful bread! I love the shape of it...I can almost smell it coming out of the oven. Nothing beats homemade fresh bread!
hi patricia,
i'm getting hungry looking at your bread! you did a good job braiding it too.
Oh, I could tear a big hunk of that bread off right now! It looks so wholesome and doughy! Love the recipe (and the braiding).:)
Sher, thank you! You're right about the smell, it was really good - it almost took over the whole apartment.
Lydia, thank you, dear! I love the braided look too.
Tanna, you're right! It was a very simple recipe that was transformed into sth different.
Lia, baking bread is one of my true passions - I love it and want to improve my skills more and more. And I think it's therapeutic, too.
Ari, apple butter? Now I'm curious - it must taste great!
T.W., I was glad with the result - I baked bread, as I wanted to, and used the walnuts before they got rancid.
Peabody, coming from a great baker like you, I'm just flattered. :)
Kristen, thank you! After seeing all the delicious recipes you've been making, I had to feel inspired.
Veron, I'm glad you liked it!
Gattina, I always think of you when I make bread - I know how much you love it, just like me.
The dough is very soft, I think you'd like it.
xoxo
Thank you, Helene! I always feel like baking/cooking when I visit your blog.
Eliza, tks for the visit, I appreciate it!
Susan, I'd send you a big bread if I could, dear!
Patricia, I've never bake much or needless to say, braid and bread haha, you're so dedicated :) hmm..one chunk of that with some sweet corn butter..yums !:)
Oh yum! Going into "to try" list. I too have recently caught the bread bug, and will occasionally get up at 10:30 at nite to bake a loaf. Glad to know I am not alone.
Oh gosh, I so love your braided bread... Sounds perfect for a Sunday breakfast!
Patricia, the bread looks delicious! I love the shape and how the filling is a wonderful surprise!
Patricia, you really know how to lure someone off a diet!
I'm kidding, of course, I think I've already quelled the craving for carbs. But oh, this looks so good.
Absolutely amazing! With the combination of walnuts and brown sugar, I don't think anything else would be needed. Well, maybe a cup of tea and long walk after consuming a nice big portion of this ;)
Melting Wok - your food is always great, so I think you should start baking more! That pie I saw today.... yummy!
Courtney, tks for the visit!
You are not alone, not at all - I totally get you. I feel the same way - last night I went to the kitchen to make a cornmeal cake for my dad - his favorite - but had to postpone the plan 'cause my cornmeal was not goo anymore (expiration date: last month). I was so frustrated. :S
Valentina, you're so sweet! Tks, dear!
Freya, I loved the shape, too - I'll start braiding more breads now. :)
Mimi, tks - I know how hard it is, dear.
Ellie, the filling was really good - simple, 2 ingredients only, but they worked wonderfully together.
Tell me about walking - that would be the right thing to do. ;)
Patricia...well done! The bread looks so delicious!
I like any kind of bread that's got walnuts :) Your's looks marvellous! Toasted with butter and a nice cup of coffee and all would be well in the world :)
Homemade bread is the best...
This looks great Patricia. Nothing beats home-baked bread. The smell of the bread as it just comes out of the oven is heavenly! And then to eat the warm fresh bread...Not sure if you know but walnut bread is great with cheeses, as long as you cut down the sugar. :)
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