ORANGE, NUT AND DATE BREAD

Orange, Nut and Date Bread image

Provided by Molly O'Neill

Categories dessert

Time 4h30m

Yield One loaf

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons rum
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, skinned and finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup chopped, pitted dates
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Steps:

In a large bowl, stir the yeast and water together and let stand 5 minutes. Whisk in the honey, rum and butter. In another bowl, combine the flour, nuts, orange zest, salt, dates and nutmeg. Stir half of the flour mixture into the yeast mixture until smooth. Stir in the remaining flour mixture.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Place in a buttered bowl, cover with a towel and set aside to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
Punch the dough down. Butter a baking sheet. Shape the dough into a loaf and place on the baking sheet. Cover with a towel and set aside in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, about 40 minutes longer. Set on a rack to cool before slicing.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 321, UnsaturatedFat 8 grams, Carbohydrate 49 grams, Fat 12 grams, Fiber 4 grams, Protein 7 grams, SaturatedFat 3 grams, Sodium 237 milligrams, Sugar 19 grams, TransFat 0 grams