Luxor4u

I was looking on the iternet for some Egyptian Recipes when I found this. It looks so like a recipe that my grandmother and mother used to use that I may give it a try for nostalgia's sake - although I will perhaps wait until nearer Christmas to make it.

Fig Date and Walnut Bread Veg CD CBF Egyptian 85mins plus cooling

Makes 1 Loaf Cold Vegetarian Dried Fruit Nuts Breads Baked Fayre Egypt North Africa Nth African

Ingredients
175g/6oz Chopped Dates
150g/+5oz chopped Dried figs
50g/2oz Softened Butter
240ml/8fl.oz. Boiling Water
100g/4oz Granulated Sugar
50g/2oz Chopped Walnuts
2 Eggs
75g/3oz Plain Flour
75g/3oz Whole Wheat Flour
½ teasp Baking Powder
A pinch of Salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease a 20x10cm/8x4-inch loaf tin.

2. Place the dates, figs, butter and baking soda in a mixing bowl then pour over the boiling water, stir well and allow to stand for 15 minutes.

3. Add the sugar, walnuts and eggs to the date mixture, mix well then add the flours, baking powder and salt and stir until just blended.

4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin then bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely

That sounds delicious ... I've added it to the recipe for the "perfect banana bread" I lifted from The Guardian yesterday (West Bank shops are not short on over-ripe bananas). Now, my question for culinary experts is: Can such things be baked in a decent combination microwave? I'm terrified of trying to light an Egyptian gas oven!

Tony, I share your fears over Egyptian gas ovens. However, I have always found gas far superior over electric ovens for baking. I have tried a few recipes, years ago now though, in my combi oven and was not too happy with them. The were OK fresh from the oven but went dry very quickly. I'm also not too comfortable with using microwaves for high sugar content recipes.

Please share your Banana Bread recipe. I've used loads of different ones over the years, and then tweeking them to my own variation too. I just haven't baked anything for a long while for numerous reasons. My cleaner at work knows I like Banana Bread and will sometimes make it but she uses an oil recipe which I think makes it too heavy. She also goes and buys bananas especially for it and turns her nose up at my over ripe ones that I can't eat. The whole point of something like Banan Bread it to make it to use up bananas and save on waste!

And all washed down with some chilled oak barrel aged date wine..mmmmm....
s'given me a thought! I have a packet of american 'pumkin and cranberry scone mix, and loads of dates...

I'm not so sure about the date wine - it would make all too sweet for my taste - but I'm sure it would help keep you regular!

I've just taken a closer look at the recipe - my mother's recipies that were similar actully did not use boiling water but did use cold tea. I'm thinking that this recipie may also benefit from the colour of tea too.

The "perfect" recipe came at the end of a long piece on banana bread, in which the writer had tried various recipes from other cooks.

350g ripe bananas (peeled weight)
180g plain flour, plus extra for the tin
2½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
160g soft, light brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
4 tbsp melted butter, plus extra to grease, slightly cooled
50g walnuts, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 170C. Put two-thirds of the peeled banana chunks into a bowl and mash until smooth. Roughly mash the remainder and stir in gently.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, and grease and lightly flour a baking tin about 21x9x7cm.

3. Put the sugar, eggs and melted butter in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to whisk them until pale and slightly increased in volume. Fold in the bananas and the dry ingredients until you can see no more flour, then fold in the walnuts.

4. Spoon into the tin and bake for about an hour until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on to a rack to cool completely.

Incidentally, on Hepzibah's experience of oil not butter, the writer says: "Oil gives the cake a fluffy texture, while the cakes with butter are richer and slightly heavier. If you prefer a very light banana bread (or are lactose-intolerant) go for oil instead."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... nana-bread

A young wife opposite gave me an instruction course on lighting the oven. As this involved putting lighted matches in a hole in the bottom of the oven and waiting for the BOOM, I am reluctant to try it!

TonyC wrote:
A young wife opposite gave me an instruction course on lighting the oven. As this involved putting lighted matches in a hole in the bottom of the oven and waiting for the BOOM, I am reluctant to try it!

The recipe looks vaguely familiar so it may be one I already have. One tip - if you find after first baking it's a bit dry or heavy, add some natural yogurt to the mix next time. It usually lightens things up a bit.

I understand where you are coming from on oven bit. I stayed with a family a few times and they always made me very welcome and wanted me to be free to look after myself too - make a cup of tea etc when ever I wanted. Great - the actual flat I was in had a lovely new range type cooker brought in with the young bride - I couldn't understand why it was there and yet it was never used. I tried to use it - no gas. There is no way I could use the ones down stairs where the rest of the family cooked. Let's just say I've seen smaller burners and flames on the hot air balloons. The flame on those rings terrified me - whoosh!

I was "blown up" by a gas oven as a youngster; it left me very shaken and eyebrow-less. And I've always thought of that incident since when going near a gas oven! Hobs? No problem! But will I ever be oven-ready...