Dried fruits like figs and dates are good sources of potassium and fiber. Here they're paired with heart-healthy walnuts and a mixture of whole wheat and white flours. One slice of this sweet, rich bread adds a generous 227 milligrams of potassium to your daily tally.
Hey I gotta say, FABULOUS! I'm not incredibly experienced. But this was so easy. I didn't have figs so I just used chopped raisins, and I had to pulverize the walnuts for the topping to accommodate my guests, but everything worked perfect. I baked in a vintage star pan that holds about 1/2 a box of cake mix usually. It turned out great.
Followed the recipe mostly as is for the first time, using orange peel since that was on hand, and added King Arthur Flour's orange oil (1/4 tsp) and lemon oil (1/2 tsp) to the cooling buttermilk mix. I also used heaping 1/4 and 1/8 tsps of the nutmeg and cloves for extra flavor - CL recipes are my favorites but almost always need more spice and heat for my family. Wonderful flavor, love the combo of flavors and the softened dried fruit is very nice, but the bread is a bit dry, at least the close-to-end piece I just had. I was surprised at the 40 minute baking time, but it was really brown at the corners and done at 40 min., so I may check next time at 37-38 minutes. If I still find the texture dry I might add a Tbl of melted butter or increase the buttermilk or oil. Lovely for breakfast or for an afternoon snack, not too sweet but wonderful fruity, citrus flavor. Definitely will make this one again in the weekly breakfast bread/muffin rotation!
I really like this one. It is nice and light with the applesauce, and I love figs. It is nice to have a different quick bread.
