Traditional Date Bread
- Shevanty R
- Dec 3, 2017
- 6 min read
Some of my earliest baking memories is making this bread with my mom and my older sister. We would spend our lazy Sunday afternoon making this bread and it wouldn't even last till the end of the week! The recipe has been in my family for years and it always been one of my personal favorites to make. Not only does the recipe produce a cake-like bread, but it also a lot of fun to make when baking with others.
Since the actual dates (also known as date palms) are already loaded with natural sugar, the amount of sugar can be adjusted to preference. Overall this bread is healthier than other choices because of the nutritious fruit, the reduced sugar and the option of nuts. Which is why this bread is prefect as a small tea snack or a healthy quick breakfast option.
Now this recipe does require quite a bit of prep work; but trust me, the end result is worth the effort. The first thing to do is to prepare the dates which is more than just chopping them. A bit of advice, buying pitted dates can be a real life changer and can be a big time saver. The one I use, and my family has used for years is Parnoosh Delicious Pitted Dates, which can be found in any local grocery store in 1 kg plastic tubs. Any type of dates will work for this recipe and I've even experimented around with Honey Dates a few times as well. But since these dates are already pitted, half the work is already done which is why I love them so much.
This is probably the worse part of the preparation because each individual date has to be pitted and chopped into fine pieces. Unfortunately, when the dates are dried, they become sticky and soft. Which makes it difficult to chop them. Fortunately, when baking with others, this part becomes slightly easier. Another piece of advice, washing your hands multiple times during the preparation makes it easier the slice and dice the dates. Place 1 pound of the chopped dates in a medium size bowl.
The next part may seem a bit bizarre for a bread recipe but this is the part that makes this bread different than all others and what makes this date bread better than other date breads. In a glass cup, brew 1 cup of black tea using boiling hot water. Any black tea will work, caffeinated or decaffeinated, but I specifically use orange pekoe tea because of the taste it brings out.
After the tea is brewed, carefully discard the tea bag and pour one teaspoon baking soda into the cup mixing thoroughly. If this starts to foam, do not worry and continue to mix. Then, while still boiling hot, carefully pour the tea mixture over the dates in the bowl. Set this aside for a while and start on the batter. There is no exact requirement as how long the dates should soak in the tea. Typically, 20 - 30 minutes is a good amount of time to allow the dates to soak, but preparing the dates ahead of time and allowing them to soak for longer (not more than over night) the more moist and fresh the bread will end up.
The rest of the recipe requires an electrical mixer and a larger bowl. In the bowl, beat together the butter and the desired amount of sugar at a high speed. This has to be beaten for at least 2 minutes to ensure creamed. The amount of sugar can be adjusted based on personal taste and sugar level preference. For better results, use room temperature butter, as it will cream much faster and softer. Below is a picture of what the creamed butter and sugar should look like.
The next part involves sweetened condense milk, an ingredient that is not commonly used in recipes now a days. Not to be confused with evaporated milk or powdered milk. In my opinion, sweetened condense milk is the stuff what dreams are made of! Condense milk is basically cow's milk with the water removed from it, it can come in many different forms, but I believe the best form comes from a can. The one that I use Mr. Goudas Sweetened Condense Milk. A 300 ml can of sweetened condense milk can go a long way, add it into the batter and beat until well blended. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure that the entire batter is mixed evenly.
Next in another medium size bowl, combine the flour as well as the baking powder, using a spoon to mix together lightly. Now comes the fun part! Add about one spoonful of the flour mixture and one spoonful of the soaking dates mixture into the butter/sugar batter. Slowly mix the batter and continue to alternating between the flour mixture and the dates mixture. Make sure to use a spatula or a flat edge butter knife to scrap down the edges. I always found this part to be the most fun when baking with my sister, because I would always spoon in the flour mixture and my sister would spoon in the date mixture.
Continue mixing the batter, until all the flour and the date mixture is completely blended into the batter. Then sprinkle in the teaspoons of vanilla extract to give the bread a hint of more flavor and taste. There is also an option of adding 3/4 cup of cashews or any other nut of your choice. The nuts can be either added into the batter and mixed in before baking OR the nuts can be sprinkled on top the ready to bake batter right before it goes in the oven. To be honest, I don't mind the cashews in the bread but my sister dislikes having the nuts in the bread. Therefore, sometimes we make the bread without the nuts and sometimes we do. The cashews (or any other nuts) don't make up the flavor of the bread but rather add to the taste. Pour the batter into a greased bread pan or in any pan of your choice. In my household, we usually make this bread in a cake pan, making it easier to cut the bread into squares, but the bread can be baked in any pan of any shape or size.
Finally its time to bake the bread, now this cake-like bread may take longer than others and it might look ready from the top. But do not take it out of the oven until it is fully baked in the middle, which can be tested by inserting a toothpick or a knife and when it comes out clean, then the bread is ready. Above are pictures of the bread before and after baking. This can be served in slices (if baked in a bread pan) or can be served in square size bites. I honestly prefer to serve the bread in square size bites due to the cake-like nature.
At last, my favorite part of making the bread, licking the bowl! I know, I know, its not good to eat raw batter because it might make me sick later. BUT that is not the case here, because there is no raw eggs in this batter, there is no real raw ingredients in the batter. In fact the sweetened condense milk and the dates make the batter taste so dam good. As a kid and even now, I love tasting the batter before I wash the bowl and the spoons. Hmm once you taste the batter, you can't go back! This date bread has been in my family for a while and I plan on making this bread for years to come! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
MATERIALS:
1 pound (16 oz.) chopped dates
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup black tea
1/4 - 1/2 pound (4 to 8 oz.) sugar
1/2 pound (8 oz.) butter
1 tin condense milk
3/4 pound (12 oz.) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup cashews (optional)
1-2 teaspoon vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS:
Brew the black tea and then preheat the oven to about 325° F
Remove the tea bag from cup and add in the baking soda.
Place the chopped dates into a medium size bowl and careful pour the boiling tea over the dates and allow them to soak for about 20-30 minutes
Using an electrical mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a larger bowl at high speed until creamed
After creamed together, pour in the tin of condensed milk and beat it into the batter
In a separate medium sized bowl, combine the flour and the baking powder
Add a little bit of the flour mixture into the batter and then a little bit of the date mixture into the batter, slowly mix the batter
Repeat alternating between the flour mixture and the date mixture, beating at a low speed
After combing everything, beat on a medium speed until everything is evenly mixed
Lastly add in the cashews (optional) and the vanilla extract
Pour the batter into greased bread pan and bake for 40 - 60 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean
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