GEOFF’s Fresh Fig, Walnut and Rye Bread…
⏱️ Enjoy with your favourite beverage | 7 min read
The memory that sits behind this loaf takes me back to 1990 and the opening of a hotel at Brighton Le Sands in Sydney. I was there with my significant other for breakfast, and what stayed with me wasn’t the standard continental breakfast or the coffee but a fig and walnut bread, still warm with butter on the side, that I hadn’t tasted anything like before. That loaf lodged itself somewhere in the back of my mind for the next thirty-odd years. The inspiration for finally making it came the afternoon after we hand-picked fresh figs at Willabrand and I came home to reactivate my rye levain ready for baking.
I use a dual-leavening approach here: my 12-year-old rye levain contributes flavour, complexity, and keeping quality, while a small amount of fresh yeast gives the dough reliable lift and takes some pressure off the timing. The rye flour in the dough itself reinforces that earthy backbone from the levain. Together they produce a crumb that is open enough to be interesting but tight enough to hold a thick spread of cultured butter without everything falling apart.
This recipe makes 1.5kg of dough – enough for one large farmhouse round or two 750gm loaves. The farmhouse round is the format I prefer; it has good volume, a substantial crust, and slices beautifully. Bake the second loaf and freeze it if you’re making two. The figs should be ripe but still holding their shape – overripe fruit turns to wet pockets in the crumb. I used around 280gm of figs and while I wondered briefly if it was too much, it wasn’t. If anything, another handful wouldn’t hurt. Toast the walnuts before you add them – raw walnuts have a bitterness that baking alone doesn’t fully resolve.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Prepare the levain: Feed your rye levain 4–6 hours before mixing. It should be active, domed, and showing bubbles across the surface when you use it. The float test is reliable: drop a small spoonful into water – if it floats, it’s ready.Toast the walnuts: Preheat the oven to 170°C Fan Plus. Spread the walnuts on a baking tray and toast for 8–10 minutes, shaking once, until fragrant and lightly golden. Allow to cool completely. Roughly chop into pieces no smaller than 1cm.Autolyse: Combine the bread flour and rye flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add 350ml of the water (holdback 25ml for later) and mix on low speed until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. This short autolyse helps the rye hydrate and begins gluten development. You can also do this by hand in a large bowl.Add levain and fresh yeast: Dissolve the crumbled fresh yeast in the reserved 25ml of water. Add the active rye levain and the yeast mixture to the autolysed dough. Mix on low speed for 2-3 minutes until fully incorporated.Add salt and olive oil: Add the salt and olive oil. Mix on low for 1 minute, then increase to medium speed for 3-4 minutes until the dough is smooth, slightly tacky, and beginning to clear the sides of the bowl.Bulk fermentation and stretch-and-folds: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled container. Cover and leave at room temperature(ideally 24-26°C) for 3-4 hours total. During the first 2 hours, perform 4 sets of stretch-and-folds spaced 30 minutes apart: with wet hands, lift one side of the dough and fold it over, rotating the bowl a quarter turn each time until you’ve completed all four sides. This, builds structure gently without degassing the dough.Incorporate the figs and walnuts: After the third set of stretch-and-folds, gently incorporate the figs and walnuts. Scatter them over the surface of the dough and fold the dough over itself inlayers to distribute evenly. Do this carefully – the figs will break down if overworked, which muddies the crumb. A few visible pockets of fig are a good thing.Shape: Once the dough has grown by 50-75% and looks airy and active at the edges, turn it out onto a lightly floured bench. For a single farmhouse round, shape the full 1.5kg piece into a tight boule by tucking the edges underneath and building surface tension with cupped hands. If making two smaller loaves, divide into equal pieces of approximately 750gm each and pre-shape each into a loose round. Rest uncovered for 20 minutes, then complete the final shape. Dust your banneton generously with rice flour or semolina and place the dough seam-side up. Cover with a clean cloth or wrap loosely in a bag.Prove: Same-day: Prove at room temperature for 1.5-2 hours until the dough springs back slowly when gently pressed. Overnight (recommended): Retard in the refrigerator for 10–14 hours. When you remove the dough from the fridge, do not bake it immediately -depending on how well it has risen, allow 30-60 minutes for a final prove at room temperature before loading into the oven. The dough should look relaxed and just beginning to puff. This step is loaf and season dependent; use your judgement.Bake – Miele Moisture Plus (preferred)1. Preheat the oven on the Moisture Plus programme to 240°C. I use the perforated baking tray on shelf position 2. If you are using a baking stone, allow at least 30 minutes for it to reach full temperature.2. Turn the proved dough out of the banneton onto a floured peel or board, seam-side down. For the farmhouse round, score four ways in a square pattern – four cuts forming the sides of a square across the top of the loaf. Make each cut at a shallow angle of around 30° and deeper than feels necessary. A hesitant shallow score on a large active dough will not open cleanly and the loaf will find its own release points around the sides instead.3. Slide the loaf onto the baking surface and trigger a burst of steam immediately on insertion. The Moisture Plus programme will hold the steam effect for around 10 minutes, keeping the crust supple and allowing full oven spring before the crust sets.4. At the 10-minute mark, release the next burst of steam. At the 15-minute mark, reduce the oven temperature to 200°C and continue baking in the Moisture Plus programme.5. Bake for a total of 50-55 minutes for two750gm loaves, or up to 70-75 minutes for a single large farm-style loaf, until the crust is a deep mahogany and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base. An internal temperature of 96-98°C confirms the crumb is fully set. Transfer to a wire rack and rest for a minimum of 1 hour before cutting.Bake – Combi Oven (alternative): Set the combi oven to 240°C with steam injection. Trigger steam on insertion and again at the 10-minute mark. At the 15-minute mark, switch off steam and reduce to200°C. Total time 50-75 minutes depending on loaf size.Bake – Conventional Oven with Dutch Oven (alternative): Place a cast-iron Dutch oven with the lid off into the cold oven before turning it on. Set to 240°C and allow approximately 30 minutes to reach full temperature. Lower the proved dough into the preheated Dutch oven on a square of baking paper. Score as above. Place the lid on for the first 20 minutes, then remove the lid and reduce to 200°C for a further 30–55 minutes depending on loaf size, until deeply coloured and hollow-sounding on the base.
Notes
Serving Suggestions
- This is a bread that needs almost nothing. A thick slice with cultured butter and a slick of honey is where I usually start. It also pairs well with strong cheese – a Provolone Piccante or a Tasmanian brie work beautifully. Here are a few serving ideas:
- Plain: Cultured butter and raw honey. Blue cheese and pear slices
- With cheese: Warm slices with a soft ripened brie and fig jam. Thick-cut with sharp Cheddar and grain mustard
- Breakfast: Toasted with ricotta, a drizzle of olive oil, and sea salt flakes. Alongside a soft-boiled egg with sourdough soldiers
- Rye levain hydration: This recipe assumes a 100% hydration levain (equal parts flour and water by weight). If yours is stiffer or looser, adjust the water in the dough slightly to compensate.
- Fresh yeast: Fresh yeast is more perishable than dry. It should smell clean and slightly yeasty, not sour or ammonia-like. If unavailable, substitute 4gm of instant dried yeast – add it directly to the flour rather than dissolving in water.
- Rye flour: Dark rye gives the most flavour. Light rye works fine but produces a milder result. Whole rye (pumpernickel flour) will make the dough denser and may require an extra 20-30ml of water.
- Fresh fig timing: Australian figs are at their best from late January through April. If using out of season, dried figs (soaked in warm water for 30 minutes and dried) can substitute – reduce to 150gm as they are more intense.
- Scoring: For the farmhouse round, score four ways in a square pattern across the top of the loaf. Each cut at a shallow angle (around 30°) and deeper than feels instinctive. A large, active dough has a lot of energy and a shallow score will not fully open – the loaf will burst around the sides rather than along the cuts.
- Scaling: The formula scales cleanly. For two 750gm loaves rather than a single farmhouse round, divide after shaping and prove in separate bannetons. Reduce baking time to 50–55 minutes.
- Once fully cooled, wrap the loaf tightly in beeswax wrap or a cloth bread bag and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerating bread accelerates staling – avoid it if possible. To refresh a day-old or two-day-old loaf, place it whole into the Moisture Plus oven at 170°C with one burst of steam on insertion for 15 minutes. This restores the crust and warms the crumb through beautifully.
- This bread freezes well. Cool completely before freezing. For household use I slice the loaf before freezing and store in a zip-lock bag for up to 3 months.
- If making two loaves, I’ll keep one whole in the freezer and slice the other. Thaw slices at room temperature or toast directly from frozen.
- To refresh a whole frozen loaf, place it in the Moisture Plus oven at 170°C with one burst of steam on insertion until warmed through. My preference would be to thaw overnight in the fridge and then refresh.
