Old-Fashioned Date Nut Bread

Before you start

Date nut bread is an old-fashioned American tea loaf built on a simple trick: chopped dates are covered with boiling water and baking soda and left to soak. The alkaline soda softens the dates' skins so they melt into the batter, darkens the crumb to a deep brown and adds a toffee-like flavor without any molasses. Walnuts give crunch against the soft, sticky fruit.

Use soft dates such as Medjool or Deglet Noor that you pit and chop yourself; pre-chopped dates coated in sugar or oat flour stay firm and gritty. Let the soak cool until just warm before adding the egg, and bake low and slow in a smaller loaf pan so the dense batter cooks through without a burnt crust. The flavor deepens and the crumb turns pleasantly sticky after a night wrapped at room temperature.

Ingredients

• Date soak225 g (1½ cups) pitted dates — chopped into 1 cm pieces
• 240 ml (1 cup) boiling water
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 55 g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter — cut into pieces
• Batter150 g (¾ cup, packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg — lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 220 g (1¾ cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 75 g (¾ cup) walnuts — toasted and coarsely chopped

Method

1. Put the chopped dates, baking soda and butter in a heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling water over them and stir until the butter melts. The mixture will foam slightly and darken. Leave it for 20 minutes, stirring once, until the dates are soft and the liquid is warm, not hot.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 165°C (325°F) with a rack in the center. Grease the loaf pan and line it with a parchment sling.
3. Stir the brown sugar into the date mixture, then the egg and vanilla. Mash a few of the dates against the side of the bowl with the spoon so some dissolve into the batter.
4. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Add it to the date mixture with the walnuts and stir until no dry streaks remain. The batter will be loose and dark.
5. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until the top is firm and cracked, the edges pull away from the pan and a skewer in the center comes out free of wet batter (a smear of melted date is fine). The center should reach about 96°C (205°F).
6. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift out and cool completely on a rack. Wrap tightly and, if you can, wait until the next day to slice.

Tips for success

• Oil your knife lightly before chopping dates; they stick less. Kitchen scissors are even faster.
• Toast the walnuts at 175°C (350°F) for 8 minutes before chopping. Untoasted walnuts can taste bitter and soft in such a moist loaf.
• A sticky skewer can fool you if it hits a date. Test in two spots, or use a thermometer.

Substitutions

Walnuts

Pecans are sweeter and softer. For a nut-free loaf, use 60 g toasted sunflower seeds or simply leave the nuts out; the slices will be a little more fragile.

Boiling water

Hot brewed coffee or black tea deepens the color and adds a slightly bitter edge that balances the dates.

Dark brown sugar

Light brown sugar works with a milder flavor. Cutting the sugar to 100 g is fine, since the dates are very sweet, but the crumb will be slightly drier.

Variations

Orange date bread

Add the finely grated zest of 1 orange to the soaked dates and replace 60 ml of the water with orange juice.

Cream cheese spread

Beat 115 g softened cream cheese with 1 tablespoon honey and serve thick slices of the loaf spread with it; refrigerate the spread.

Troubleshooting

Dates sank to the bottom

The pieces were too large or still firm. Chop them to 1 cm, soak them a full 20 minutes, and mash some into the batter so it thickens.

Crust burnt before center set

The oven was too hot or the pan was too large and dark. Bake at 165°C (325°F) in a light metal pan and tent with foil after 40 minutes if needed.

Bread tastes metallic

The soda was not fully dissolved or was overmeasured. Stir it into the hot water until it disappears and use a level teaspoon.

Storage

Wrap the loaf in plastic or foil and store it at room temperature for up to 5 days; it stays moist and gets better for the first two. Freeze whole or sliced for up to 3 months.

Safety notes

Raw batter contains egg and flour; do not taste it. Contains wheat, egg, milk and tree nuts.