Whole-Wheat Date Bread
Published August 28, 2011
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 1 hour 10 minutes, plus cooling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
Butter for greasing pan
½ cup (95 grams) dark brown sugar
⅔ cup (160 grams) plain yogurt, buttermilk or sour cream
1 tablespoon (20 grams) honey
1 tablespoon (14 grams) vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (90 grams) whole-wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoons (6 grams) baking powder
¼ teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda
½ teaspoon (3 grams) fine sea salt
⅔ cup (140 grams) extra virgin olive oil
1 cup (200 grams) sliced pitted dates
Cream cheese, for serving
Red seedless grapes, halved, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving
38 grams carbs; 54 milligrams cholesterol; 303 calories; 10 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 16 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 195 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 23 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, yogurt, honey and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time.
- Step 2
In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet, just until no longer lumpy. Using a rubber spatula, fold the olive oil into the batter in 3 additions. Fold in the dates.
- Step 3
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until it is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before turning the cake out onto a rack to cool completely.
- Step 4
To serve as sandwiches, cut into ½-inch-thick slices and make sandwiches with a layer of cream cheese studded with grape halves. Freeze any remainder; the bread can be sliced while frozen.
Variation: Add sliced black olives along with, or instead of, the grapes.
Private Notes
Comments
This was very delicious, however, I personally found it to taste more like a cake. Perhaps, it could use molasses and some spices to give it a richer flavor. I added a 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts for extra crunch. It tasted great with cream cheese and I washed it down with a glass of whole milk!
This brings back memories. In the late 1960’s, shopping on Saturday mornings, we would stop at a modest little Deli Diner for brunch. Cream cheese on fresh date nut bread was always on the sandwich list on a chalk board. It was a rich, savory-sweet treat and all the oil and fat kept us from getting hungry for a long time. This was in Somerville, Mass., not far from MIT. Everybody ate them — it was a staple at simple local restaurants.
For all the sugar, this is a surprisingly neutral, versatile bread. It's not overly sweet and can easily be made savory.
I used light brown sugar instead of dark, went with the sour cream option, and baked a few extra minutes because my pan was 8.5 x 4.5. Easy to make and turned out great.
Make this for your pregnant friends!!
My dates all sunk to the bottom-how could I prevent that?
Perfect! I made it GF but subbing Bob’s Red Mill one for one flour, and used some almond flour with oat flour. I added some orange peel with the wet ingredients. So good! I’ll keep this one.