Whole Grain Walnut Quick Bread

As Kelly mentioned before, we ate so many great meals in Portland we just knew we’d have to recreate some at home! We went to a cute little Swedish place called Broder for Easter brunch and it had the most delicious bread! Not that my meal wasn’t great…I was just a little disappointed with the small pieces of toast I got. I wanted more!

Broder was so tiny, we were less than 10 feet from the kitchen. I could see this huge pile of bread getting ready to be toasted or used in sandwiches and it just looked so good. Once we got our meal, it didn’t disappoint. Walnuts usually seem to be in sweet breads, like banana or zucchini, but it made a great addition to the savory wheat bread as well. I knew I wanted to try to make this at home.

Lucky for me, Kelly and I had just won an advanced copy of Stephanie’s, from Girl Versus Dough, new e-cookbook that is all about…you guessed it…breads! Specifically quick breads, so no yeast involved. Even better! If you haven’t read her blog you really should. It’s one of our favorites! And you should also check out the e-cookbook Quick Bread Love. It has so many great looking recipes!

How she was able to come up with a whole wheat bread recipe without yeast is beyond me, but I’m sure glad she did! I added in the walnuts to get my Broder re-creation going and it did not disappoint. Plus, it was super quick! A few minutes to put it all together, popped it in the oven, and the dishes were done by the time it was ready. That simple.

This isn’t necessarily a sweet bread, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been eating it as a snack every time I walk through the kitchen. It is perfect toasted at breakfast or on the side of dinner. Or a midnight snack. Or for anytime really.

I’m so excited to find there are some bread recipes out there that aren’t scary and intimidating! I hope you give this one a try. Trust me…it’s worth it!

~Stephanie

Whole Grain Walnut Quick Bread (Recipe from Girl Versus Dough, Quick Bread Love)

• 2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c all purpose flour
• 1 c old fashioned oats
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 c cold butter
• 1 1/2 c buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 c walnuts

1. In large mixing bowl, combine both flours, oats, sugar, soda and salt.
2. Dice cold butter and mix into flour mixture with hands, forming coarse crumbs.
3. Using paddle attachment on mixer, add in buttermilk and egg and combine until dough forms. Dough will be sticky.
4. Stir in walnuts by hand.
5. Using wet hands, shape dough into a ball and place in the middle of a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet.
6. Cut an X in the top of the dough and sprinkle with more oats as desired. Press oats into dough lightly.
7. Bake 30-32 minutes at 375 until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Let cool completely before cutting.