Roasted hazelnut and prune bread

A rich bread and a lovely taste. I was a bit reluctant in adding prunes to a bread believing that will transform the bread into a cake. The reality instead contradicted me: the sweetness of the dried plums only added a delicate flavor to the bread. The second key ingredient of this bread was of course the roasted hazelnuts. They came with a special roasted nutty flavor. But what is the most incredible is the combination between the two: delicate sweet and nutty. Combine these 2 in a bread that contains also whole wheat flour and you will definitely chose this bread as one of your favorites.

On top of the successful combination, this bread is already writing history in my family. If you are asking why, the answer will be simple: it is the first bread made by my daughter. She shaped the little boule that you see bellow with her own little hands. I was working the dough on her left side and she was looking at me, copying every little movement that I was doing with my hands. It was such an emotional moment ... to be the teacher of your own child. She was so proud that she made this boule by herself and she was following its raise in the oven every 5 minutes or so, repeating me over and over again that she was the one who made it. And I was so proud of her too! I was not guessing before that I was having near me a little baker! A unique moment in life for a mother and a bread to be remembered.
I've let her play with the dough just as she was doing with play-doh. Just imagine how my daughter looked like after the shaping: full of flour everywhere, from hair to shoes. Anyway, I gave her a big laugh and a kiss.

When my breads are ready, usually she is asking for a slice. This time, she asked specifically for her own. This one was a little too tough because playing with so much flour makes the bread like that. But who cares, she enjoyed the process so much, and in the end... she has not put her piece down at all. It was hers and she ate it all.




Ingredients:

Preferment :

• 200g bread flour
• 120g water
• 40g stiff levain

Final dough:

• 550g high protein flour (~15%)
• 250g whole wheat flour
• 540g water
• 50g butter (soft)
• 20g salt
• 15g yeast
• the above preferment
• 125g hazelnuts (roasted). You can also skin them if you prefer, I didn't.
• 125g dried prunes (chopped)

Directions:

1. 20:00 (the day before) Make the preferment 12 hours before. Let it sit at 19ºC.
2. 9:30 AM Mix the flours 
3. 9:45 AM Make an  autolyse of 20-60 minutes
4. 10:30 AM Mix all ingredients for 10 minutes. Add the roasted nuts and prunes at the end of the mixing and continue to mix on a slow speed for 1 minute..
5. 10:45 AM Bulk fermentation for 2h. You can do 1 stretch and fold after 45 minutes, at 11:30.
6. 12:30 AM Divide and shape. I chose to make 3 oblong loaves.
7. 12:50 AM Final fermentation 1h at 19ºC.
8. 13:35 AM Start to preheat the oven.
9. 13:50 Bake for 15" at 240ºC with steam and then another 30" at 220ºC.