Category: Quick Bread

Week 97: Pan co’Santi

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ITALY: Just when I think I’ve settled on my favorite loaf, another one comes along that moves it down to second place. This Italian sweet(ish) bread is tradionally made around All Saints’ Day during October and November. It’s packed with raisins and walnuts (the Saints) and flavored with cinnamon, black pepper and red wine. Serve it with a green salad, some cheese, a vin santo, and call it dinner!

Step 1: Make dough

  • 400 g bread flour
  • 25g sugar
  • 7g salt
  • 2g cinammon
  • 3/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon yeast
  • 125g raisins
  • 150g chopped walnuts (they taste better if you toast them, but it’s optional)
  • 125g water
  • 75g red wine (like a Cabernet Sauvignon)
  • 50g  extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 egg yolk for brushing on surface just prior to baking
  1. In a med-large bowl, measure the flour, sugar, salt, spices and yeast together and whisk well to combine.
  2. Add the raisins and mix with the whisk, breaking up any clumps
  3. Measure the water, wine and oil into a separate container and stir to mix.
  4. Add to the flour.
  5. Mix with one hand until a soft, but fairly stiff dough forms. You don’t want any dry bits of flour. If it doesn’t come together fairly quickly, after about a minute, then make sure you’ve poured in everything from the container that had the water/wine/oil, and add just 1 Tbsp of water. That should do the trick. Don’t worry about any bits of flour stuck in the walnuts, it’ll get absorbed.
  6. Scrape off any bits that are on your hand into the bowl. Pat it down so the surface is fairly flat, i.e. not a ball.
  7. Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight, 12 – 16 hours.

Step 2: Shape and proof

  1. Next day, remove dough from bowl and do some stretch & fold kneading. It’s a tight dough, so it won’t stretch a whole lot.
  2. Flip it over and let rest 2 hours in a warm place
  3. Remove the dough ball onto an oiled countertop.
  4. Stretch the sides out, then fold over into the middle. Turn over and shape into a ball. Place on a baking sheet, cover and let rest another 1 hour.
  5. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Step 3: Bake

  1. Brush with a beaten egg yolk, then score with a cross.
  2. Bake 50 minutes until dark brown and glossy.
  3. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool thoroughly. It’s best if you can wait a day before opening.

Week 85: Eggnog Tea Loaf

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Just after Halloween, I make a large batch of aged, aka boozy, eggnog (my favorite is Michael Ruhlman’s 30-day Eggnog) and put it in the back of the fridge until Christmas time. This year, we had a little bit left over so I decided to make a tea loaf with it, and wow, what a treat! SO good with a cup of Earl Grey in the afternoon, and even better after dinner with some Traditional Swedish Egg Coffee. It’s super easy to throw together, and also makes for a nice hostess gift over the holidays.

  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 1 c granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-1/2 c flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup eggnog (measure it into a Pyrex liquid measuring cup)
  • Glaze:
    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • 3 tablespoons eggnog
    • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
    • pinch of salt
  1. Butter and flour an 8.5″ x 4.5″ loaf pan and preheat oven to 350.
  2. With electric beaters, or a stand mixer, cream the butter with the sugar until well combined.
  3. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until thoroughly mixed in.
  4. Measure the flour, salt, and baking powder into a separate bowl, and whisk to combine
  5. Add the dry ingredients into the wet in batches, alternating with the eggnog, and mixing to combine after each addition.
  6. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  7. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
  8. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until an inserted knife comes out clean. If the top starts to brown too much before it’s ready, cover it with a tin foil tent. Do not over bake!
  9. Meanwhile, make the glaze: Measure everything into a bowl and whisk to combine.
  10. Remove loaf from pan and let cool of a rack.
  11. Drizzle with glaze, and sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg.

Week 80: Thanksgiving Loaves

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Representing the three pies we make at Thanksgiving: Apple, Pumpkin and Pecan. This is a good use of any leftover pumpkin or applesauce you might have, so you can use any combination of the two. Or, just one if that’s all you’ve got. I use mini loaf pans so that I can freeze them and have them at the ready over the holidays when folks drop in for tea, or as hostess gifts.

  •  4 large eggs
  •  1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1-1/2 cups applesauce
  • 1-1/2 cups canned pumpkin
  •  2 sticks unsalted butter
  •  3 cups flour
  •  1 Tbsp baking soda
  •  1 tsp salt
  • 3/4 tsp cinammon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 36 pecan halves, or sliced almonds
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Butter and flour 6 mini loaf tins, or 2 loaf tins.
  3. Melt butter, and allow to cool.
  4. WIth the paddle attachement, on high speed, (increase speed in increments so that it doesn’t splash all over the place), mix the eggs and the sugar until light and fluffy and a very pale yellow.
  5. Add the applesauce and pumpkin and mix to combine.
  6. Add the cooled, melted butter, and mix to combine.
  7. Measure the dry ingredients into a separate mixing bowl, and wisk to combine
  8. Add the dry tingredients to the wet in batches, mixing until incorporated. Do not over beat.
  9. Pour into prepared tins. Decorate with nuts.
  10. Bake about 25-35 minutes. Same baking time for mini vs loaves, but watch them towards the end.