Martha Stewart Date Nut Bread Recipes

DATE NUT BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350.
• Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3 inch loaf pan.
• Put the dates, walnuts, baking soda, salt and shortening in a bowl. Pour the boiling water over and stir. Let the mixture stand for 15 minutes.
• Using a fork, beat the eggs and sugar together in a bowl. Add the flours and stir; the batter will be too stiff to mix well. Add the date mixture and mix briskly until the batter is well blended. Spoon into the loaf pan and bake 40 to 50 minutes. Check the loaf often; it is done when a few moist crumbs cling to a straw inserted in the middle of the loaf. The bread will continue to bake after it is removed from the oven. Do not overbake, or the loaf will be dry.
• When the loaf is done, slide a knife around the edges of the pan and turn the loaf onto a rack to cool completely. This bread freezes well.

JAPANESE MILK BREAD (SHOKUPAN)

Steps:

• Starter:Whisk together milk, 1/2 cup water, and flour in a small saucepan until smooth. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until thickened slightly but still pourable (it should have the consistency of loose pudding), 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; let cool until warm to the touch but no longer hot, about 10 minutes.
• Dough: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, milk powder, sugar, salt, and yeast. Make a well in center of mixture. Add milk, melted butter, and starter to well; stir until a dough forms. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic and springs back when lightly pressed, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl brushed with butter; brush top of dough with more butter. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in volume, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush two standard 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with butter. Punch down dough. Transfer to a clean work surface and divide in half. Roll each half into an approximately 9-inch log; transfer to prepared pans. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise until more than doubled in volume (doughs should rise about 1 1/2 inches above tops of pans), 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Whisk egg white with 1 teaspoon water and gently brush onto tops of dough. Bake until puffed, golden brown, and a thermometer inserted in centers registers 200 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack 15 minutes. Flip loaves out onto rack; let cool completely before slicing and serving, or store, unsliced and wrapped in parchment-lined foil at room temperature up to 3 days, or sliced and frozen up to 3 months.

WHOLE-WHEAT DATE NUT BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with oil. In a medium bowl, pour hot water over dates and let stand until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in oil, egg, and vanilla. In another bowl, stir together flours, baking soda, salt, pecans, and brown sugar. Fold egg mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
• Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a tester inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, about 65 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack, 20 minutes, then turn out bread and let cool completely. Wrap in parchment if giving as a gift, or slice and spread with Neufchatel and serve. (Loaf can be tightly wrapped and stored at room temperature up to 3 days.)

DARK CHOCOLATE-WALNUT DATE BAR

Steps:

• Brush a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with oil and line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on long sides.
• In a food processor, pulse 1 1/2 cups walnuts, dates, peanut butter, vanilla, and kosher salt until finely chopped and mixture holds together. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly knead to pack together; pat into an 8-inch square. Refrigerate until firm, 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt chocolate with oil. Halve nut mixture and press one part into loaf pan. Drizzle with half of chocolate. Refrigerate until chocolate just begins to set, 10 minutes.
• Press in remaining nut mixture and spread with remaining chocolate. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup walnuts and flaky salt. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. To serve, let stand at room temperature 10 minutes, then remove from pan using parchment before slicing.

DATE AND NUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper third and middle. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Add dates, pecans, and raisins, and stir with a wooden spoon until fruit and nuts are coated. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, oil, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Add to flour mixture and stir until combined.
• In another small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake until cookies are golden at edges, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool completely.

DATE NUT BREAD

Steps:

• Combine baking soda with the boiling water. Soak the dates in the water and baking soda solution for 30 minutes.
• Cream sugar and butter together. Add eggs, vanilla, dates, nuts, flour, and salt.
• Divide batter equally between two 9 x 5 (or 8 1/2 x 4 1/2) inch greased loaf pans. Bake 1 hour at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) (or until loaf tests done). Can be frozen when cool.

MARTHA STEWART'S BANANA NUT BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and butter or spray a 9x5x3" loaf pan.
• With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar very well until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs, beating well.
• Sift the dry ingredients together and combine with the butter mixture; blend well.
• Add the bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; stir well.
• Stir in the nuts.
• Pour into pan.
• Bake 50-60 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.
• Turn out onto a rack to cool.

ZUCCHINI NUT BREAD - MARTHA STEWART

Steps:

• Preheat over to 350 degrees. Coat two 4 1/2 by 8 1/2 loaf pans with nonstick spray, line with partchment paper, and spray paper.
• Combine zucchini, sugars, oil and eggs in a large bowl and mix until combined.
• Add dry ingredients and mix well.
• Fold in nuts and extract.
• Divide batter between loaf pans.
• Bake unitl a tester inserted in the middle of each loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour.
• Cool 10 minutes on wire rack. Invert, and remove parchment paper. Cool completely before sliceing.

CLASSIC WHITE BREAD

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast over 1/2 cup water. Add 2 teaspoons honey. Whisk until yeast dissolves. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle or dough-hook attachment. Add butter and remaining 1 3/4 cups water and 3 tablespoons honey. Whisk flour with salt; add 3 cups to yeast. Mix on low speed until smooth. Add remaining 4 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing until dough comes away from sides of bowl and forms a ragged, slightly sticky ball. Butter a large bowl.
• Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. Shape into a ball. Transfer to prepared bowl; cover with plastic wrap.
• Let dough stand in a warm place until it doubles in volume (it should not spring back when pressed), about 1 hour. Butter two 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pans. Punch down dough; divide in half.
• Shape 1 dough half into an 8 1/2-inch-long rectangle (about 1/2 inch thick). Fold long sides of dough in to middle, overlapping slightly. Press seam to seal. Transfer dough, seam side down, to pan. Repeat with remaining dough. Brush each loaf with butter, or dust with flour for a rustic look. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drape loaves with plastic. Let stand until dough rises about 1 inch above tops of pans, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake, rotating pans after 20 minutes, until tops are golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer to wire racks. Let cool slightly; turn out loaves. Let cool completely before slicing.