Bread is one of my favorite food categories to make and to eat, so when I come across unconventional recipes I always feel inspired. I discovered this recipe in the Georgia Entertains Cookbook. It is a nice departure from other bread recipes I have tried in the past. The lemon juice and zest add a delightful freshness of flavor to the bread. The original recipe calls for the use of walnuts, but after testing the recipe several times with a variety of different nuts, I found that pistachios compliment the lemony flavor best. Feel free to use whatever nut you like— you cannot go wrong with this recipe. Overall, this is a lovely bread!
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (4 ounces) butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
4 lemons, zest and juice
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup pistachio, roughly chopped
Glazed lemon and lime peels (link to purchase below)
Yields: 1 loaf
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease a 9-inch loaf pan and set aside.
In a bowl, sift together the flour with baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Work in the butter until the texture is similar to coarse meal.
Stir in the sugar and the wheat germ. Add the zest from 4 lemons. Stir to combine.
In a separate small bowl, mix the lemon juice from the 4 lemons with water.
Beat the eggs in a another small bowl, then stir the beaten eggs into the flour mixture.
Add in the lemon juice and water to the flour mixture.
Stir in the chopped nuts.
Place the batter in the greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack.
Garnish with glazed lemon and lime peels (link to purchase lemon peels).
Serve with butter.
