Honey, Apple and Pecan Loaf with Whipped Honey Butter

 

 



I received a pot of gorgeous garden honey from one of my husbands work colleagues whose mother is a local bee keeper. I pondered hard over what to make with such a precious pot of golden nectar. I stumbled and bumbled through my day, souring recipe books and magazine until I came up with this golden loaf, swirled with autumnal goodness and slathered with whipped honey butter. If I were a bee, I think I'd be okay with the fruits of my labor winding up here.

Thank you Joe Teese... and thank you to your mum and her hard working bees.



Honey, Apple and Pecan Loaf with Whipped Honey Butter
slightly adapted from here

For the Whipped Honey Butter:
250g softened unsalted butter
250 honey
Finely grated rind of 1 orange
Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean

For the Loaf:
120g wholemeal flour (I used Atta flour)
3g dry yeast (about 1/2 sachet)
Finely grated rind of 1 orange
300g plain flour
160ml milk
60g honey
1 egg, at room temperature
60g softened unsalted butter
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and coarsely grated and juice squeezed out
70g pecans, finely chopped
Melted butter for brushing

Make the Whipped Honey Butter:
Put all the ingredients for the whipped honey butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat  for 4 - 5 minutes until very fluffy. Divide into two even portions. Put one portion into a ramekin and chill in the refrigerator until needed.

Put the remaining half of the whipped honey butter into a bowl. Add the grated and squeezed apple, chopped nuts and 40g of the plain flour and stir to combine. Set aside.

Make the Loaf:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Spray a 23 cm x 13 cm loaf pan with cooking oil spray and line with baking paper or a liner. Set aside.

Combine the wholemeal flour, yeast, orange rind and the remaining 260g of plain flour in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix to combine.

Heat the milk and  honey in a small saucepan until lukewarm. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg. Add to the flour mixture and mix on low speed to combine. Add the butter a little at a time, mixing on low speed until you have a smooth dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for an hour until doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it out to a 23 cm x 30 cm rectangle. Spread it with the apple mixture, roll into a tight cylinder using the short edge. Place it into the prepared pan, seam side down and cover with plastic wrap to rise slightly for about 30 minutes.

Bake for 1 - 1 hour 10 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Cover with foil half way through baking to prevent the top from getting too brown. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out. Brush the top with melted butter to give it a shine.

To Serve:
Slice into thick slices, toast until golden and slather with whipped honey butter.