Beginner friendly, this foolproof no-knead fig & walnut artisan bread is studded with rich, chewy figs and crunchy walnuts, seasoned 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.
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. So much so that it’s already on my baking gift list for this year!
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this fig & walnut artisan bread
- Water
- Liquid honey
- Active dry yeast
- Bread or all-purpose flour
- Whole wheat bread or all-purpose flour
- Kosher or fine sea salt
- Cinnamon
- Dried figs
- Chopped walnuts
Ideally, you will also have:
- Digital scale
- Dough scraper
- Parchment paper
- Razor blade or very sharp knife
- Covered baking vessel, such as this one or this one
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 & walnut artisan bread in 5 steps
- Mix the dough.
- Cover and let it rise until it has doubled in size.
- Shape your dough and dust with flour.
- Cover and proof the dough in the fridge for 1 hour or as long as 24 hours.
- Turn dough out onto parchment, score and bake.
Baking schedule
Making this fig & 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, turn it out, score it and bake!
This fig & walnut artisan bread is a super simple and satisfying bake that I hope will become a welcome addition to your breakfast and holiday tables. Happy baking!
7 more favourite breakfast bread recipes to try
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 & Walnut Artisan Bread
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 chopped dried figs
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
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, whisk 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. Seam side up, lift and place it into a flour dusted proofing bowl. Dust with flour, cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or as long as 24 hours. 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 a Dutch oven or covered baking vessel inside the oven.
- Uncover then invert the bowl to turn the dough out onto parchment paper seam side down. If needed, gently turn it with your hands and nudge it into the shape of a loaf. 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 15 minutes more. Your bread will be done once the top is 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.
Amazing artsan bread, i switched out figs with olives, and it turned out perfect! Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that, thank you so much Kareen! K