Spiced fig and walnut sourdough bread (no knead)

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If you’ve nailed the simple sourdough loaf and are looking to broaden your sourdough repertoire, this spiced fig and walnut sourdough bread recipe might be the perfect place to start. Using a beginner friendly no knead bread method, this recipe is great for those who understand the basic sourdough principles and are looking to mix things up a little. The slightly sweet flavour is balanced by the sourness of the sourdough and makes for the perfect breakfast, snack or after dinner treat! This tasty bread is loaded with delicious fruit and is a great alternative to conventional ‘raisin toast’ which is often packed with sugar and additives.

What is sourdough?

Sourdough is a type of bread made from a mixture of flour and water that has been naturally fermented by wild yeast and bacteria. The fermentation process gives sourdough its characteristic tangy flavor and chewy texture. Sourdough products have been around for thousands of years, and sourdough was the traditional method of making bread before commercial yeast became popular. Sourdough bread can vary widely in flavor and texture depending on factors such as the type of flour used, the fermentation time, and the conditions in which it’s made. Sourdough is known to be more easily digestible than conventional wheat products, and offers many benefits including:

• Health benefits – sourdough (or any fermented products) have plenty of health benefits. I notice that I’m able to digest sourdough more easily than non-fermented grains, and knowing that all the ingredients used are organic and free from chemicals and pesticides is a necessary bonus.
• Low waste – no plastic wrapped loaves of bread here. I purchase my flour in bulk and it comes in paper bags. These bags are composted at the end of their life meaning no plastic waste.
• Master valuable skills – while we all know it is convenient to pop to the shops and grab a loaf of bread, I truly believe that losing these valuable skills would be so detrimental. Knowing how to make real food from scratch with simple ingredients may just come in handy one day.

What is a sourdough starter?

A sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that has been fermented by wild yeast and lactobacilli bacteria. Adding a small amount of sourdough starter to the dough mixture cultures the rest of the flour with the wild yeast and bacteria, which acts as leavening agent for sourdough bread, providing the rise and the characteristic tangy flavor. You can make your own sourdough starter from scratch using this simple method.

Many recipes state that a sourdough starter needs to be fed daily to keep is healthy and active, but my method is much simple and less wasteful. You can fine my no-discard sourdough starter method here.

What equipment do you need to make spiced fig and walnut sourdough bread?

To make this loaf, you need a few essential pieces of equipment. These include:

• Large mixing bowl
• Dough whisk or wooden spoon
• Kitchen scales
• Bowl cover, damp tea towel or plastic wrap
• Banneton or small bowl approximately the desired shape and size of your loaf
• Muslin cloth or clean tea towel
• Cast iron dutch oven
• Bread lame, razor blade or very sharp knife

What ingredient do you need to make a spiced fig and walnut sourdough loaf?

This recipe requires some basic ingredients as well as a few special additions. You will need:

• Bubbly, active sourdough starter
• Baker’s flour or all purpose flour
• Whole wheat flour
• Filtered or dechlorinated water
• Fine sea salt
• Honey (or maple syrup)
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground ginger
• Dried figs
• Walnuts
• Sultanas (optional)
• Vanilla essence (optional)

You can also substitute dried figs for dried apricots or swap sultanas for another type of dried fruit if you prefer.

How to make spiced fig and walnut sourdough bread

Feed your sourdough starter

Approximately 6-8 hours before starting your spiced fig and walnut sourdough bread, you need to feed your sourdough starter to ensure that it is nice and active when you are ready to start making your bread. I like to feed my starter in the morning (8:30am) ready to start making the dough in the afternoon (4:30pm). Ensure that your feed your sourdough starter enough to get 125g mature sourdough starter.

Combine dough ingredients

Place a large bowl on the kitchen scales and tare the weight. Add warm water to the bowl along with the honey. Stir to combine.

Tare the scale and add the sourdough starter (a sufficiently active starter should float when you add it to water.) Stir to combine.

Add the flour, salt, spices, and vanilla essence (if using). Combine the ingredients well. This will create a very sticky, shaggy dough to begin with.

Rest, stretch and fold

Cover the mixing bowl with a dam tea towel, bowl cover or plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, preform the first set of ‘stretch and folds’. To do this, take one side of the dough, pull up to stretch it as far as it goes, then fold this over the rest of the dough. Repeat on all four edges of the dough. This is one ‘set’ of stretch and folds.

Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes, then perform another set of stretch and folds. Repeat this roughly every 20-30 minutes for 2-3 hours. By the end of the 2-3 hours, your dough should be very loose and stretchy. If you’re not sure how to stretch and fold, there are many great videos on Youtube which will explain this step.

Bulk fermentation

After 2-3 hours of stretching and folding, which gives you 4-6 sets of stretch and folds, it’s time to bulk ferment the dough. This involves leaving the dough to rest at room temperature for several hours. Bulk fermentation allows the wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria to work their magic, converting sugars to carbon dioxide and causing the dough to rise.

You should start to see air bubbles forming through the bowl if using glass, and the dough should almost double in size. I usually bulk ferment my dough for 4-6 hours, covered with plastic wrap, a damp towel or a clean shower cap.

When the dough is nearly doubled in size, its time to shape you dough.

In the warmer months, bulk fermentation usually takes 4-5 hours. In the cooler months, bulk fermentation usually take 8-10 hours/overnight.

If it is very cold in your climate, it helps to place dough in a warm place during bulk fermentation. The ideal temperature for bulk fermentation of sourdough typically ranges between 24°C to 27°C (75°F to 80°F) 

Shape

Remove the dough from the bowl and turn out on the the counter using a rubber spatula. I don’t flour my work surface as this helps to create surface tension on the dough. Using slightly wet hands helps when handling a sticky dough. Stretch out the dough into a square shape on the counter. 

Sprinkle 3/4 of the figs, sultanas and walnuts over the surface of the dough. Fold the outside edges into the middle (like folding a letter). Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 of the fruit and nuts on top of the dough, then roll up into a ball, sealing all the add-ins inside the dough.

Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes, then gently shape into the shape of your banneton or other vessel. A bench scraper can make it easier to transfer into the banneton.

Place in banneton

Dust the muslin or tea towel lined banneton basket with rye flour or whole-wheat flour. Place the dough into the banneton basket, seam side up. Cover the dough with a bowl cover or damp tea towel to prevent it drying out. Place in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours. The sourdough will continue to develop flavour but the fermentation process will slow right down. The longer the time spent in the fridge, the more sour your loaf will be.

Score and bake

One hour before baking, preheat your oven at the highest temperature with your cast iron dutch oven inside. Carefully flip the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper (unbleached if possible) and score the dough as you wish with a bread lame, razor blade or very sharp knife. It could be simple like mine or you could get creative. Just make sure you work quickly at this stage.

Carefully remove the preheated dutch oven and lower the dough in using the sheet of parchment paper. Place the lid on and return to the oven, turning the oven temperature down to 230 degrees Celsius.

Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on at 230 degrees Celsius.

Remove the lid and bake for a further 20 minutes at 210 degrees Celsius. If the bread is starting to brown too much, it helps to put a baking sheet on the top rack above the bread to reduce the amount of direct heat on the top of the loaf.

Cool, slice and store

Once your bread has finished baking, carefully removed it from the dutch oven and cool on a wire rack.

As tempting as it may be, make sure you wait until it’s completely cool before slicing. Slicing too soon will create a gummy texture, and we wouldn’t want that after all your hard work! If you would like to freeze your bread, I recommend slicing the whole loaf and placing it in an airtight bag before freezing. This way you can remove a slice whenever you like.

Enjoy your delicious spiced fig and walnut sourdough. I like to serve mine toasted with a good amount of salted butter. Sometimes I add some honey or banana for a little extra sweetness!

Let me know if you try this recipe! I’d love to hear from you 🙂