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Toasted Peanut Bread Recipe
October 16, 2006 | 27 Comments
There is a bumper crop of great cookbooks out right now. The kind of books you add to your collection and hang on to for twenty or thirty years. It's actually great timing for me because about a month ago I got rid of somewhere around 150 cookbooks (gasp!) at a local flea market. I've kept many of my favorite titles, enduring classics, and key reference books - but the rest are hopefully being enjoyed by others right now. In turn I'm enjoying a clean office to work in and room to put books like Andrea Nguyen's Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, Matt and Ted Lee's (The Lee Bros.) Southern Cookbook, Marcus Samuelsson's Soul of a New Cuisine, and James Oseland's Cradle of Flavor when I discover them.
New Releases
I spent quite a bit of time with Marcus Samuelsson's The Soul of a New Cuisine over the weekend. It is an overview (of sorts) that explores African cuisine paired with hundreds of photographs by Gediyon Kifle highlighting the ingredients, markets, and people of Africa. To try to communicate the spirit of African cooking in a single volume is no small task. You are talking about 55 countries, hundreds of languages - all spread across thousands of miles. Marcus touches on the Africa he has experienced and the food he encountered on his travels, and from that point of view included some of the greatest hits of African cuisine including a range of spice blends experienced in North Africa, Ethiopian injera, and big pots of hearty stews.
I tagged a few recipes to try in my own kitchen in the coming months - Apple Squash Fritters (perfect this time of year), Pomegranate Rice, Boharat (a spice blend punctuated by rose petals and dried lemon powder), and the Toasted Peanut Bread I made last night.
It was quite cold here yesterday and Wayne was making a big pot of hearty soup for dinner so I though the Toasted Peanut Bread would make for good soup dunking. It is a hearty, yeast-based bread made from a butter-kissed dough that has been supplemented with ground toasted peanuts, chile powder and cumin. The base liquid is coconut milk which adds another layer of flavor, richness and moisture. It is a delicious, unique bread that I will definitely make again, but truth be told, it was a little finicky to make this first time around in part because the dough was quite dry. I think if I had used a full can of coconut milk from the beginning, all would have been smooth and fine. And note to self: next time use the dough hook on the KitchenAid to mix.
Toasted Peanut Bread Recipe
Heidi notes: Peanuts (or groundnuts) are widely used in sub-Saharan Africa for a to thicken stews, add richness, and boost nutrition of food. In this bread they add density, flavor, and pair nicely with the spices.
1 cup coconut milk (hs note: I used a full can)
3 tablespoons honey
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 1/2 cup peanuts
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Bring the coconut milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the honey and stir continuously until the honey dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool until just warm, then whisk in the yeast. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
Toast the peanuts in a large saute pan over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Add the chili powder and cumin and toast for 20 seconds. Let cool slightly, then transfer to a blender or food processor and puree until a smooth paste forms.
Mix together the flours and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the butter, coconut milk, and peanut paste to the well and slowly combine with the flour, using your hands to work the flour into the well until all the liquid has been absorbed. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until a ball forms, about 5 minutes.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth or oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
Butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan (hs note: or a giant brioche pan!). Punch down the dough and place in the pan. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the bread for 35 minutes, until the top is browned. Invert the pan onto a cooling rack and let sit for 5 minutes, then remove the pan and let cool.
Makes 1 loaf.
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Your Comments
Ohh, that bread looks and sounds delicious. I have been playing with bread making quite a bit lately and will definately be adding this to my list of breads to try!
You always bring such great recipes.Thank you
I have a bread machine and I love using it. Do you think this recipe would work in a machine?
Thanks for any/all help
PS. I love the newsletter.
Sounds yummy! Does it matter what kind of peanuts you use? (i.e., dry roasted, cocktail, etc)
Hi Heidi
Just wondering about the amount of your can of milk, in cups or grammes, if you don't mind. This recipe sounds lovely; never had a bread made with coconut milk and I would like to so try this. Thanks for your help.
I would also like to know if this can be done in a bread machine, and what alterations I'd need to make to the recipe and/or instructions to use the bread machine for this recipe.
Thanks much, for the recipe as well as any additional info you can give me.
Waitaminute... You sold 150 cookbooks? I might have made a trip to CA for that. :)
"It is a hearty, yeast-based bread made from a butter-kissed dough that has been supplemented with ground toasted peanuts, chile powder and cumin."
Sentences like this make me want to climb inside your images, your words, your thoughts and warm myself by the hearth, the fire I know is burning there.
Even if we cannot bake daily, we can at least sidle up to your oven and breathe deep an extraordinary scent. Story.
Thank you.
Hello Heidi,
I love reading your recipees - but have yet been able to make one since this summer as wheat or flours seem to be recurring ingredients in your fabulous recipees. I am one of the 30% of the population who can't have wheat in any form, but would kill to make some of your recipees anyway. Do you ever experiment with other flours? Rice, lentil, pea, corn etc? I am wondering if your peanut bread could be made with an alternative flour?
Much appreciation -
A
That was the best ever!
Annick- are you just allergic to wheat or do you have gluten issues? If you just have a wheat allergy you can try to substitute spelt flour. It bakes well since it still has gluten, but low gluten. Technically it is still wheat, but some with wheat allergies do well with it.
If you have issues with gluten, or spelt won't work for whatever reason, then you can substitute rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch flour among others. I was thinking of making this using 2 1/2 c. brown rice flour and 2 1/2 c. of white rice flour. Then you must add some xantham gum, I'd experiment with 1 tbsp. - this acts as a gluten substitute so that yeast breads can still rise using gluten-free flours.
I'll let you all know how it turns out.
You might want to check out the gluten free recipe posted on C&Z the other day that looked very yummy!
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2006/10/fondant_chocolat_noix_de_coco.php
Ok, so I gotta ask: Did selling that many cookbooks invalidate the title of this blog?
Finally, more recipies. I can't go too long without my food porn.
hi annick, i think this is the 1st time i'm posting a comment on your blog. have you tried the recipes in Cradle of Flavor? it's very interesting food journey Oseland has taken. i'm an indonesian by birth, and i'm always curious of indonesian recipes written by a Westerner.
Lorna, Polywonder
I retired my bread making machine a while back...but if you try it, would you report back?
Maria, I started with raw peanuts.
Serene, it was a 14 ounce can of coconut milk. So just shy of two cups.
ha3rvey, :) I regret not giving a head up on the site, but the opportunity cam up at the last minute. A friend was moving to Mexico and had a spot at the annual neighborhood flea market - so I took over part of his stall with cookbooks and cake plates.
Shuna! Sorry I missed your Litquake panel last weekend. I had a good friend in from out of town or I would have been there.
Kurt, No :) I think I'm still in the realm of 100-200.
Annick, I look forward to continuing my exploration of underutilized flours in the future but not necessarily through a GF lens specifically. Some GF links/cooks who are doing inspiring work in addition to the links Kelly mentions below:
Shauna has a good link list on her site as well.
http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/
http://www.mightyfoods.com/archives/2006/08/recipes_babycakes_nyc.html
I'll also try to continue to highlight good GF sites and recipes on Mighty Foods.
I'm loving Andrea's cookbook!
Hi all,
Those cookbooks look fantastic.
But have you every check out... "It's About... Time" by Michael Schlow? Schlow runs three restaurants in Boston, Radius, Via Matta, and Great Bay, all of which are fantastic. His cookbook has tons of great recipes as well. Find it here or buy it after having lunch or dinner at one of his restaurants...
Hi everyone,
I enjoyed the cookbook..
hi Heidi,
wow - your bread look amazing! that crunchy top...delicious!
is it more a soupdunkbread or works it also well sliced and with peanut butter for example??
what a lovely books, I have at the moment my eye on Paco Torreblanca’s new book...ah wish I had it already...! =)
There's another wonderful book that I think will be on American bookshelves in the next few months: here in Australia it's called Arabesque, by Greg and Lucy Malouf... I believe the name may change for the American market because of the Claudia Roden book of the same name. Greg, a friend of mine, is a brilliant Melbourne chef who cooks exquisite modern Middle Eastern food. Arabesque was his first book; his latest book called Saha is a beautifully photographed and written exploration of the food of Lebanon and Syria. I think you would really enjoy it.
Heidi,
I retired my bread making machine a while back...but if you try it, would you report back?
Maria, I started with raw peanuts.
Serene, it was a 14 ounce can of coconut milk. So just shy of two cups.
ha3rvey, :) I regret not giving a head up on the site, but the opportunity cam up at the last minute. A friend was moving to Mexico and had a spot at the annual neighborhood flea market - so I took over part of his stall with cookbooks and cake plates.
Shuna! Sorry I missed your Litquake panel last weekend. I had a good friend in from out of town or I would have been there.
Kurt, No :) I think I'm still in the realm of 100-200.
Annick, I look forward to continuing my exploration of underutilized flours in the future but not necessarily through a GF lens specifically. Some GF links/cooks who are doing inspiring work in addition to the links Kelly mentions below:
Shauna has a good link list on her site as well.
http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/
http://www.mightyfoods.com/archives/2006/08/recipes_babycakes_nyc.html
I'll also try to continue to highlight good GF sites and recipes on Mighty Foods.
There's another wonderful book that I think will be on American bookshelves in the next few months: here in Australia it's called Arabesque, by Greg and Lucy Malouf... I believe the name may change for the American market because of the Claudia Roden book of the same name. Greg, a friend of mine, is a brilliant Melbourne chef who cooks exquisite modern Middle Eastern food. Arabesque was his first book; his latest book called Saha is a beautifully photographed and written exploration of the food of Lebanon and Syria. I think you would really enjoy it.
Andrew, I agree about the Malouf books. Saha in particular is one of the most beautiful books I own. Arabesque the most practical and inspiring.
I think you can get them through Amazon UK if you can't wait.
Your photographs (not to mention recipes!) always blow me away. They are just gorgeous!
Dear Heidi,
I just baked this wonderful loaf in my bread machine and it's great! I put the ingredients in the pan in the order the instructions say to do (liquids first, then dry ingredients followed with the yeast). I left some of the peanuts partially chopped and the resulting loaf is really tasty. Hooray, it worked!!
I was so excited to see The Soul of a New Cuisine cookbook here! I've been looking for a great cookbook on African cuisine, and I went out and got a copy immediately. Can't wait to try it out!
-L
Great Pics!... Altough IMO I would try to avoid the blueish color from skylight for food photography... make them 'warmer'... =) But great pics anyway!!
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