Fig and walnut bread recipe

Do you love fruit loaf? Well, here’s a variation that is so much better… Fig and walnut bread!

I love fruit loaf but often feel really disappointed when I eat it. I think it’s because it’s always so unsatisfying; the bread usually has no substance, there’s never enough ‘fruit’ (which is usually just sultanas) and certainly not enough flavour.

So I decided to create my own fruit loaf, using dried figs and fresh walnuts, and with just enough spices to make it sing, (and the song was “Oh wow, this bread rocks!”)

Try this delicious fig and walnut bread with dairy-free butter for a tasty breakfast, morning or afternoon tea. Packed with dried figs, fresh walnuts and spices, there’s no need for loads of sugar. Yes, it has maple syrup, but you can omit it. It’s equally amazing either way.

The Walnuts

It’s super important to have fresh walnuts for this. Stale walnuts can be dark and very bitter to the taste. I recommend finding California Walnuts. When they’re fresh they’re very pale in colour, have a lovely crunch and taste quite sweet. Find a store that sells lots of nuts to get some fresh ones. That usually means avoid the supermarket variety. If you can get organic ones, then even better. Your final bread and your taste buds will thank you for it.

The Figs

There are only two things to note for the figs; 1/ they need to be dried figs, and 2/ they must be sugar-free. Figs are already very sweet. When they’re dried the sugar can crystalise and the figs are chewy. If you buy sweetened figs you’ll find that they are moist and syrupy. This will add too much sugar to your bread, and also make the bread not sugar-free. Stick the all-natural variety for the best result.

And finally

If you undercook this bread, the centre will be quite doughy. Make sure you take the time to bake it well and a skewer comes out clean from the inside of the bread when tested. If you slice it open to discover it’s not quite done, quickly reassemble it, cover it with foil (so it doesn’t dry out) and pop it back in the hot oven for another 10-15 minutes.

Want some more bread recipes? Here is the recipe for our PALEO BREAD or our quick and easy KETO BREAD ROLLS.