No-Knead Fig and Walnut Artisan Bread

Last updated on March 30th, 2026

Beginner friendly, this No-Knead Fig and Walnut Artisan Bread is studded with sweet, jammy figs and crunchy walnuts, flavoured with warming cinnamon then lightly sweetened with honey. Slightly rustic with a subtle nutty flavour and crunchy crust, it pairs perfectly with your favourite artisanal cheeses.

This recipe is a long-overdue reader request that’s coming out just ahead of cooler weather and the upcoming holiday season. Whether grilled or toasted up for breakfast with lots of butter or reserved for a celebratory cheese board, it is just SO GOOD.

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this Fig and Walnut Artisan Bread

• 1½ cups water (360 grams), room temperature (at or near 70°F/21°C)
• 1 tablespoon (18.75 grams) liquid honey
• 1 teaspoon (3 grams) active dry yeast
• 2 cups (260 grams) bread or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 cup (130 grams) whole wheat bread or all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher or fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon (2 grams) cinnamon
• ¾ cup (130 grams) dried figs, stems removed and chopped
• ½ cup (75 grams) chopped walnuts

Ideally, you will also have:

• Digital scale
• Dough scraper
• Parchment paper
• Razor blade or very sharp knife
• Dutch oven, such as this one or this one

New to working with yeast? Reference my Baking with Active Dry Yeast guide for answers to common FAQ’s.

You can read more about why you will achieve your best results using a Dutch oven here.

Similar to my Cranberry Walnut Artisan Bread, this recipe builds on my simple 4-ingredient, no-knead Everyday Artisan Bread. It combines both white and whole wheat bread (or all-purpose) flour, the latter of which enhances the nutty flavour and adds a rustic element. The addition of figs and walnuts makes this loaf a little more special.

Baking with figs

The figs add a sweet, jammy berry flavour and a chewy texture to the bread, while their moisture helps to keep the bread fresh a little longer. Chopping them with a sharp knife (and even dipping the tip of it into hot water) will help prevent sticking. I highly recommend using dried figs in this recipe. I’ve tried both, and the sticky consistency of fresh figs just isn’t well-suited to bread making. If you don’t have figs, both dried apricots and dates would work well here.  

How to make Fig and Walnut Artisan Bread in 5 steps

1. Mix the dough.
2. Cover and let it rise until it has doubled in size.
3. Shape your dough and dust with flour.
4. Cover and proof the dough in the fridge overnight.
5. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, reshape if needed, score it and bake.

Baking schedule

Making this Fig and Walnut Artisan Bread is a two-day process where the bread is mixed and prepared on day one, cold proofed in the fridge overnight, then baked on day two.

This is what it looks like:

Saturday morning: Mix dough, cover and let rise.

Saturday afternoon or evening: Shape dough, cover and put it in the fridge.

Sunday morning, afternoon or evening: Remove dough from the fridge and prepare to bake.

This Fig and Walnut Artisan Bread is a super simple and satisfying bake that I hope will become a welcome addition to your breakfast and holiday tables.

Try this Cinnamon Raisin Artisan Bread or this Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread next.

For more tips and helpful information, reference my Artisan Bread Basics guides for answers to common FAQ’s.  

If you make this recipe, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! 

And of course, feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews. This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you!

No-Knead Fig and Walnut Artisan Bread

Flavoured with warming cinnamon and lightly sweetened with honey, this beginner-friendly No-Knead Fig and Walnut Artisan Bread is studded with sweet, jammy figs and crunchy walnuts. Slightly rustic with a subtle nutty flavour and crispy crust, it pairs perfectly with your favourite artisanal cheeses.

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Total Time:18 hours hrs

Keyword: artisan bread, bread, fig, no-knead, walnut

Servings: 1 loaf

Equipment

• Digital scale
• Chef’s knife
• Dough scraper
• 4 Qt mixing bowl
• Parchment paper
• Dutch oven

Ingredients

• 1½ cups water room temperature (at or near 70°F/21°C)
• 1 tablespoon liquid honey
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 cups bread or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 cup whole wheat bread or all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ cup dried figs stems removed and chopped
• ½ cup chopped walnuts

US Customary – Metric

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Instructions

• Whisk together honey and water, then sprinkle yeast across the top and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, salt, cinnamon, chopped figs and walnuts until the fig pieces are well-covered in flour. Let sit for 10 minutes.
• Add yeast mixture to the bowl and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined. The dough should look a little sticky and stringy and there should still be a little flour around the edges of the bowl.
• Cover and let rise somewhere warm (see note below) until it has doubled in volume, about 8-10 hours.
• Once the dough has doubled, use your hands (or a dough scraper if you have one) to pull the dough out onto a floured surface. With floured hands, gently fold the dough into itself several times until a soft, flour-covered ball is formed. Lift and place it, seam side up, into a flour dusted bowl. Dust with flour, cover and refrigerate overnight. You can even leave it for as long as 48 hours at this point if you’re not able to bake it right away.
• When you're ready to bake your bread, preheat oven to 450ºF (232ºC) with your Dutch oven inside the oven.
• Uncover then invert the bowl to turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, seam side down. Depending on how long it's been in the fridge, you may need to repeat the step above using a floured hand or dough scraper to pull the dough out onto the floured surface. If needed, flour your hands once again and fold the dough into itself a couple of more times, gently turning it with your hands and nudging it into the shape of a loaf. Lift and place it on a sheet of parchment paper and score the top with a razor blade or the tip of a sharp knife with a design of your choosing. This will allow steam to escape while it’s baking.
• Once the oven is preheated, remove the Dutch oven from the oven and transfer the dough, still on the parchment, into the Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for 13-15 minutes more. This is a darker loaf, so start checking for doneness at the 13-minute mark. Your bread will be done once the top is deeply browned, and it sounds hollow when you tap the top.
• Using parchment edges, lift bread from Dutch oven and transfer it to a wire cooling rack to let cool for up to an hour before slicing.

Notes

Rise time and temperature: An ambient rise temperature somewhere between ~70º-75º/20º-23ºC is ideal but even high 60’s/18º-19ºC should work if the dough is kept away from drafts. Note that rise times can vary based on temperature, environment and ingredients used. You will know your loaf is ready to bake when it has doubled in size, and this can take a minimum of 2-3 hours or as long as a full day. With a little experimentation, you will find the time frame that works best for you.

Storage: This bread will keep well on the counter for 2-3 days and in the refrigerator for up to a week. Sliced bread will freeze well for up to 3 months.