-Posted by Jeff
A couple of weeks ago, we had a friend of R's from work come over for dinner with her husband. She brought us a loaf of bread as a gift, which she'd bought from the best bakery in town. This was no ordinary bread: it was filled with cherries and hazelnuts, a combination so delicious that I had to recreate it.
I don't really have the patience to work with yeast, so my version uses baking soda as a leavening agent. The recipe is built on a classic one for Irish soda bread, in which the loaf is baked inside a small cast-iron skillet.
The result is a soft, crumbly bread with sweet and tart cherries and rich hazelnuts. It's a beautiful combination, especially for fall. What's more, it's versatile: have it at breakfast with butter and jam, or serve it with lunch or dinner. It's healthy, too: the buckwheat flour (apparently this blog's favourite ingredient) adds a wealth of nutrients, as do the cherries and hazelnuts.
Cherry Hazelnut Quick Bread
Ingredients
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup white flour (+ more)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 scant tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
1 large egg
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp buttermilk
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425F and lightly grease a small (8-inch) cast-iron skillet . Alternatively, you can bake this bread on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
In a bowl, place the two types of flour, sugar, salt and baking soda and whisk together. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork until the mixture consists of small crumbs only. Add the cherries and hazelnuts and stir to combine.
Crack the egg into the bowl and add the milk. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients enough so that no flour is visible. You may find that the dough is still quite sticky. Add more flour until you find that the dough is workable in your hands (up to 1/2 a cup or more).
Sprinkle flour on a clean surface and rub some flour on your hands. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it just enough to form a ball that sticks together. It's fine if there are some bumps and strings of dough remaining; the danger is in over-kneading.
Place the dough ball into the cast iron skillet. With a serrated knife, cut two perpendicular lines into the top of the dough (see picture).
Bake the bread for 35 minutes. To test if it is done, knock on the top of the bread - it should sound hollow. Also, stick a knife in the centre of the bread to make sure it comes out clean.
Cool for 5-10 minutes before serving fresh and warm! Lasts up to a day on the counter before drying out.
Yields: 1 loaf
The result is a soft, crumbly bread with sweet and tart cherries and rich hazelnuts. It's a beautiful combination, especially for fall. What's more, it's versatile: have it at breakfast with butter and jam, or serve it with lunch or dinner. It's healthy, too: the buckwheat flour (apparently this blog's favourite ingredient) adds a wealth of nutrients, as do the cherries and hazelnuts.
Cherry Hazelnut Quick Bread
Ingredients
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup white flour (+ more)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 scant tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
1 large egg
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp buttermilk
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425F and lightly grease a small (8-inch) cast-iron skillet . Alternatively, you can bake this bread on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
In a bowl, place the two types of flour, sugar, salt and baking soda and whisk together. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork until the mixture consists of small crumbs only. Add the cherries and hazelnuts and stir to combine.
Crack the egg into the bowl and add the milk. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients enough so that no flour is visible. You may find that the dough is still quite sticky. Add more flour until you find that the dough is workable in your hands (up to 1/2 a cup or more).
Sprinkle flour on a clean surface and rub some flour on your hands. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it just enough to form a ball that sticks together. It's fine if there are some bumps and strings of dough remaining; the danger is in over-kneading.
Place the dough ball into the cast iron skillet. With a serrated knife, cut two perpendicular lines into the top of the dough (see picture).
Bake the bread for 35 minutes. To test if it is done, knock on the top of the bread - it should sound hollow. Also, stick a knife in the centre of the bread to make sure it comes out clean.
Cool for 5-10 minutes before serving fresh and warm! Lasts up to a day on the counter before drying out.
Yields: 1 loaf
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