Ally's Kitchen
Dense, moist, rustic. Don’t expect this to raise and be big bread! This Pistachio Fig Peasant Bread isn’t your typical light airy bread. When you bite into it, preferably warm from the oven or toasted later, you’ll immediately taste the pistachio and fig flavors. The whole wheat flour creates even a more peasant feel to is as well as a subtle added nuttiness. I’d never even know that pistachio meal existed until my dear friend, Reagan, sent me some of it with a note to ‘create something wonderful’…so, with that mission in mind, I began! The homemade fig preserves that Bia of the blog ‘Rich and Sweet,’ and one of my most favorite foodie luvees, had sent me were speaking to me as they sat on the counter next to the pistachio meal…soooooooooooooo, they were included in the recipe…what a tender sweetness they gave to the finished bread. Actually, this bread can almost be a dessert…it would be great as French toast…or just buttered regular grilled or broiled toast. Or just tear a hunk off and eat it…whatever you decide, it’s going to be allllliclicious!
Makes: 2 loaves
Preheat oven to 400
What you need:
2 pkg of rapid-rise yeast
2 cups warm water (110-120 degrees)
2 tsp sea salt
1 cup buttermilk (chill taken off of it…microwave for about 20”)
2 tbl fig preserves or jam
1/3 cup roughly chopped salted pistachios
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups all-purpose flour (divided—1 cup will be used for kneading after the initial dough has raised)
½ cup pistachio meal (Note: If you don’t have pistachio meal, you might try grinding pistachios in a food processor.)
What you do:
In a large mixing bowl, empty the yeast and add the warm water. Whisk together. Add the salt, buttermilk, preserves/jam, chopped pistachios and whisk together. Add one cup at a time of the whole wheat flour. The dough will begin to get gooey and thick. Add 1 ½ cups of the all-purpose flour. Continue to work into the batter/dough, which will be getting thicker, until all is well blended. The dough will be sticky and gooey.
Have another large mixing bowl nearby; coat it with cooking spray. Dump the dough batter into this bowl and use a spatula to get out all the dough. Cover and let this dough raise for an hour-plus or until about 50” increased in size. (It will probably not ‘double’…I put mine in a cold oven with the light on.)
When the dough has raised, dump on to a flour-covered surface and knead into the sticky dough. Knead for about 8-10 minutes. Dough will thicken but not be like ‘play dough’ thick. It will have some ‘jiggle’ to its consistency.
Shape into loaves. Place on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. Bake for about 55-60 minutes in a pre-heated 400 degree oven. If the outside is getting too brown, cover loosely with foil.
When done, remove and let cool for about 10-15 minutes.
©Alice D’Antoni Phillips Ally’s Kitchen
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