Today’s Spotlight is on Date Nut Bread.
Date nut bread is a quick bread that contains chopped dates and nuts. It’s also known as date walnut loaf. Date nut bread is a traditional Scottish tea bread that became popular in the US in the 1920s. It’s often made with treacle or tea to give it a dark brown color.
Date nut bread is moist, slightly dense, and studded with chopped dates and pecans or walnuts. The water from the soaked dates adds even more flavor to this delicious bread. You can serve date nut bread warm with generous swirls of butter. It’s also a great tea sandwich when cut into thin slices and slathered with cream cheese.
History
The first-ever date nut bread recipe was published in 1939. It’s believed that date nut bread originated in England. It’s now a common recipe to make in the winter months and for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Dates are among the world’s oldest fruits. Archaeologists have excavated their seeds in subtropical regions around the world. Dates are believed to have originated in Iraq thousands of years ago.
Walnuts were extensively traded along the Silk Road during Roman times. The Romans called walnuts Juglans Regia, which means Jupiter’s Royal Acorns. It’s possible that some form of date nut bread was created during this time. Many families have their own Date Nut Bread recipe passed down from generation to generation.
Here are some facts about date nut bread:
- It’s a traditional Scottish tea bread that’s also popular in Australia and New Zealand.
- It’s often made with treacle or tea to give it a dark brown color.
- It’s a great snack or dessert. You can pair it with your favorite jams, jellies, coffee, and teas.
- It’s a quick bread made with a leavening agent that permits immediate baking.
- It contains 34 calories per 8.7 g serving. This serving contains 1.7 g of fat, 0.6 g of protein, and 4.3 g of carbohydrate.
Here is a Date Nut Bread recipe for you to try:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup chopped dates.
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup boiling water.
- 4 tablespoons melted butter.
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans.
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease one 4 x 8″ loaf pan generously with butter or spray with cooking spray.
- Prepping dates: Add the dates to a bowl or 2-cup measuring cup. Sprinkle the baking soda over the dates. Pour the boiling water over the dates and allow them to cool. Do not discard the water.
- Mixing: With a mixer, cream the butter, and sugar together on medium-high speed. Add the egg and mix on medium speed until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Using a strainer, strain the water from the dates into the mixing bowl and mix it in.
- Add the flour and mix just long enough to almost incorporate all the flour. Add the dates and nuts and mix on low speed just to incorporate. Don’t over mix.
- Baking: Transfer batter to the greased loaf pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes until a toothpick test comes out clean.
- Run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan, and allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Gently shake the pan up and down to loosen the bread from the bottom of the pan. Invert the bread onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Enjoy!
Consumption
Here is some nutritional information for date nut bread:
- Calories: 230 calories per 1/2-inch slice
- Total fat: 11.31g per 1/2-inch slice
- Saturated fat: 1.08g per 1/2-inch slice
- Trans fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 26.43mg per 1/2-inch slice
- Sodium: 271.32mg per 1/2-inch slice
- Potassium: 80.36mg per 1/2-inch slice
- Total carbs: 24g
- Dietary fiber: 1g
- Total sugars: 15g
- Protein: 1g
Here is some nutritional information for Neuman’s Date Nut Bread:
- Total carbs: 15g
- Net carbs: 14g
- Fat: 1g
- Protein: 1g
- Calories: 70
Celebrating Date Nut Bread
National Date Nut Bread Day is celebrated on December 22. Some sources also suggest the day is celebrated on September 8th. Why not celebrate both!
Let us know in the comments which date you pick, even if its neither of these.
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