Tart, crunchy, crumbly, hearty, warm, soft, textured, sweet, and aromatic. A nutshell description of what you would encounter if you made this bread at home. It is so much more than that though–it’s an experience. First, it fills your house up with the warming smells of yeasted whole wheat bread as it rises and bakes. Then, as you are enveloped by the soft blanket of bready-aroma, you bite into a warm piece smothered in fresh butter–a little drips down your chin–and a zing! of apricot hits your tongue as you crunch into a small grounded piece of toasted almond. The bread is so warm and moist (the coconut shreds helped with that), that you don’t even need the butter and honey you find yourself spreading on top. But today, today you are being a little bit wild, a little decadent, even a little mischievous. Because if we were “good” all the time, life would be really dull and boring.
It felt good to be bad, but the funny part is, this bread is not bad for you–it’s great for you. And I’ve been enjoying it for breakfast and an afternoon snack since I made it! I am discovering that there really is a place for my beloved baking in the world of health. Not everything comes out like cardboard, a sugar cube, or a well oiled piece of paper (although, this has definitely happened). I find when I let my creative inhibitions flow, recipes like this literally emerge and I am quite satisfied. So much so, that I feel a bit mischievous. And I like it 
.
Cheers!
Apricot Almond Whole Wheat Bread
5 cups whole wheat flour or spelt flour (+ about 1 cup more +/- to get it to more of a bread dough like consistency vs. a paste consistency) 1 package fast acting yeast 2 cups plain, organic, kefir (or buttermilk, or plain whole yogurt) 1/4 cup warm water 3 organic eggs 1 teaspoon sea salt 1/4 cup real maple syrup 2 tablespoons honey 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 cup melted butter 1 cup unsulfured dried apricots, cut into pieces, soaked in boiling water for 20 mins. 3/4 cup shredded coconut 1 cup chopped almonds
In a 1/4 cup warm water, sprinkle the yeast and let it get nice and foamy. Meanwhile, combine the flour and kefir. Add the yeast and mix for about a minute. Add the eggs, sea salt, maple syrup, honey, baking soda, melted butter, apricots, and almonds. Knead until firm and spongy–I used my kitchen aide bread hook for this recipe and had to add about 1 more cup of flour to get it spongy. While stirring, add a 1/2 cup more at a time while kneeding with the bread hook to get it from a paste-like consistency to a more bread-like one. Even then, it may feel a little more soft than normal which is OK. Let rise until doubled in size (this will vary too, mine didn’t double but it rose enough where I was confident in putting it in the oven, when I did, it rose beautifully during the baking process), in a warm place. Bake at 350 for 45-55 mins, until a toothpick or knife comes out clean. Serve warm and enjoy!
This looks like a wonderfully dense bread chock full of goodies.
ooooh, that look and sounds incredible!
I bet molasses butter would taste divine on this bread! YUM!
Thank you for sharing this dear! I cannot wait to try it~!Looks fab! xoxo
Thanks, all! Grace, I bet it would be fantastic on this bread, good idea
.
This bread looks great! Is there anything I can use instead of Kefir, I haven’t seen it in the shops?
Sure! You can use buttermilk or plain yogurt instead with pretty much the same results. Cheers!
This sounds and looks lovely, but I’m a little uncertain about the ingredient amounts listed. 3 c. flour + 2 c. kefir + the eggs/syrup/butter does not create something that can be kneaded, much less described as firm and spongy. I have it all in a bowl and like paste. Are the amounts listed really correct?
I had to add a cup or so more of whole wheat flour to get it less paste-like and more bread like. I used my kitchen aide bread hook too, adding a half a cup more flour each time until it was more doughy. They do not rise all too much in the pan from my experience either! But in the oven, they get nice and filled out. Thanks for the comment, I’ll change that in the recipe instructions.
Love how you use sea salt, and the image of this being slathered with butter- loves it. This would be such a great dish for a brunch, or a picnic. x shayma
I was thinking the same thing. Next time I have a brunch, I’m going to test out this bread. I am typically a banana bread person but this recipe looks moist and dense. Can’t wait!
It does taste great
. Thanks for stopping by!
Looks so good! I am thrilled that it calls for whole wheat flour since our favorite is Kamut Wheat
Yay – I cannot wait to try this! I would love to see what spelt tastes like too as I have not yet tried this one. TY for sharing.
My pleasure! Spelt is a wonderful flour that I’ve come to appreciate and love–careful not to kneed it too long or else it will make your finished bread hard and dense!
I’ve been waiting for 10 days to have the time to make this bread, and it was so worth it! I didn’t have any syrup on hand (despite the ten days I had to buy it…), so I used extra honey with no problems. I also had to add more than a cup of flour, but it made a HUUUUGE loaf and it’s so yummy. With butter, with peanut butter, with a good hunk of cheese…toasted, untoasted…you get the picture. Thank you!
Oh good! So glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing