Fig and Walnut Loaf

Back when we lived in Boston we went to a restaurant called Sel de la Terre. I don't remember much about our meal there but I do remember the bread, especially the fig bread. We both loved the bread so much that when we went to Boston last year we went to the restaurant to see if we could buy a loaf of it. Unfortunately, they didn't have it but that's ok now that I have this recipe. If you like figs you will like this bread. Even if you don't like figs, you will still like this bread. This is the type of bread you will want to share because you'd want others to experience the awesomeness of figs.

Fig and Walnut Loaf 
Source: Kitchen Daily on Huffington Post

3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (3 oz)
1/2 cup boiling water
6 ounces dried Turkish figs, coarsely chopped, (1 cup)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Lightly butter and flour a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.

Toast nuts in oven until a shade darker, about 10 minutes.

Pour boiling water over figs and let stand 10 minutes. Strain through a sieve reserving figs and liquid separately.

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup of fig liquid, egg, oil, and milk. Stir wet ingredients into flour mixture until just combined, then stir in figs and walnuts.

Spread dough evenly in loaf pan and bake until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool bread in pan 15 minutes then turn out onto rack and cool completely.

Bread, wrapped well, at room temperature 1 week.