Black Walnut Bread
- 1½ cups sifted all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cups bran flakes
- ¾ cup coarsely chopped black walnuts, wild hickory nuts, or pecans
- ½ cup seedless raisins or dried currants
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ cup molasses (not too dark)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions:
You can substitute wild hickory nuts for black walnuts.
- Preheat the oven to 325° F. Coat a 9 × 5 × 3-inch loaf pan with nonstick oil-and-flour baking spray and set aside.
- Sift the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg together into a large mixing bowl. Add the bran flakes, black walnuts, and raisins; toss 4 to 5 times to dredge the nuts and raisins, then make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.
- Whisk the milk, egg, and vegetable oil in a small bowl until creamy. In a separate small bowl or 2-cup measuring cup, combine the molasses and baking soda; the mixture will fizz—proof that the soda is good and fresh. Pour the molasses mixture into the well in the dry ingredients, then add the milk mixture and stir only enough to combine. It’s good if a few floury specks show; they prove that you haven’t over-beaten the batter.
- Scoop the batter into the pan, spreading to the corners, and bake on the middle oven shelf for about 1 hour or until nicely browned, springy to the touch, and a cake tester inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool the loaf in the upright pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, loosen around the edge with a thin-blade spatula, then turn out on the rack and cool to room temperature before slicing.