You can substitute all-purpose flour for the bread flour but the resulting loaf will be a little shorter and denser.
Trail Mix Bread with California Figs
To bake good bread, you don’t have to look far. Take this trail mix dried fig bread recipe. That simple mix-in of trail mix makes dried fig bread delicious.
Nutrition
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm whole milk 110°F
- 1/3 cup warm water 110°F
- 1/4 cup light molasses
- 3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 1/4 tsp yeast instant or rapid-rise
- 2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup pecans toasted and chopped coarse
- 1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds toasted
- 1 cup Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid California Figs stemmed and chopped into 1/4" pieces
Instructions
- Whisk the milk, water, molasses, and 3 tablespoons of the melted butter together in a large liquid measuring cup. Combine 1 3/4 cups of the bread flour, whole-wheat flour, yeast, and salt in a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. With the mixer on low speed, add the milk mixture and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. If after 4 minutes more flour is needed, add the remaining 1/2 cup of bread flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom. Add the pecans, sunflower seeds and figs and continue to knead until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball. Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Spray a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with vegetable oil spray. Turn the dough out into a lightly floured counter. Gently press the dough into a 9-inch square, roll into a tight cylinder, and pinch the seam close.
- Place the loaf, seam-side down, in the prepared pan. Spay the loaf lightly with vegetable oil spray, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until the loaf has nearly doubled in size, 45 to 75 minutes. Meanwhile adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Brush the loaf with the remaining ½ tablespoon melted butter, then spray lightly with water. Bake until the crust is a deep golden brown and the center of the bread register 200 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 50 to 60 minutes, rotating the loaf halfway through baking. (If the crust begins to get too dark, tent loosely with aluminum foil.)
- Cool the loaf in the pan for 15 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before serving.
Notes
Valley Fig Growers is a proud sponsor of Cook’s Country TV.
