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Whole Wheat Persimmon Bread with Walnuts and Brandy

November 1, 2016 by Nicole 23 Comments

Whole Wheat Persimmon Bread Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

If you’ve never tried persimmon bread, you’re in for a treat! Rich with butter and filled with dried fruit, nuts, spices, and brandy, this persimmon quick bread is perfect for the holidays! I’ve added a healthy twist by using whole wheat pastry flour to add some extra flavor and nutrition, but you’d never guess that this is a healthy persimmon bread recipe. 

This post from the archives was originally published in November 2010. I’m sharing it again today with updated photos and a printable recipe. Enjoy!

Like most places around the country, autumn in California’s San Joaquin Valley is a beautiful time of year.  While we might not have as many vibrant colored leaves as other places, we do have fruit trees.  Pomegranates, persimmons, lemons – these are our fall colors.  Take a drive through the country or just about any older neighborhood and you’re bound to run across some of these beautiful trees with their red, orange, and yellow fruit.

Persimmon trees are my fall favorite.  The trees drop their leaves as the fruit ripens, leaving nothing but the spectacular glowing orange orbs— it’s quite a beautiful sight.

Hachiya Persimmons | pinchmysalt.com

More than just autumn decorations, persimmons are wonderful to bake with.  The persimmons I’m talking about today are the larger, acorn-shaped Hachiya variety.

Hachiya persimmons can be very astringent and not suitable for eating raw until they are very, very ripe.  But by the time they are ripe enough to eat, the flesh is gooey and gelatinous.  Because of this, I find that Hachiya persimmon pulp is better for baking than for eating raw (although some people do like to eat it with a spoon).

The smaller, squat variety of persimmon that has been showing up at more and more grocery stores lately is the Fuyu.  These can be eaten raw while they are still firm, and their mild sweet flavor makes them easy to love.

Whole Wheat Persimmon Bread Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

I like to bake cookies when I get my hands on some persimmons, but this year I decided to try something a little different.  I saw that David Lebovitz had written about a persimmon bread from James Beard’s book Beard on Bread. I happen to have my mom’s old battered copy of that book (it’s a year older than I am, actually), so I dug it out and looked at the recipe.

James Beard’s Persimmon Bread is a butter-rich quick bread filled with fruit, nuts, and booze.  It sounded great to me and seemed like a good way to use up some of the brandy that I bought for the Caramel Apple Pear Cake.

Whole Wheat Persimmon Bread Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

The original recipe makes enough batter for two large loaves, but since I was afraid I would devour an entire large loaf myself, I decided to cut the recipe in half and bake it in three mini loaf pans. That way I could give two away, and eat one small loaf myself.

I had a big bag of mixed dried fruit that I bought for the Panettone I was making for The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge, so I decided to use that instead of just plain raisins.  I also chose to use whole wheat pastry flour in place of all-purpose—I thought it would add a bit of extra flavor and nutrition.  The original recipe calls for mace as the main spice, but I used a combination of ground cinnamon and nutmeg.

A new thing I learned from Beard on Bread is that you can use the persimmon skin along with the pulp.  I have always peeled the fruit before making the puree, but this time I used the skin, too.  It was much easier and I liked the tiny flecks of orange that the skin added to the bread.

You must use very ripe Hachiya persimmons for the puree.  To ripen persimmons, just leave them sitting out at room temperature until they are very soft and feel like they are turning to liquid inside the skin.  As David Lebovitz says, a completely ripe Hachiya persimmon should feel like a water balloon about to burst.  To make the puree, just blend the persimmon pulp (and skin, if you like) until smooth.

I have shared links to other persimmon recipes at the bottom of this post—check them out if you’d like more ideas for cooking with both hachiya and fuyu persimmons.

Nutrition

Calories

544 cal

Fat

19 g

Carbs

81 g

Protein

18 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info
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Yields one large loaf or three mini loaves

Whole Wheat Persimmon Bread
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Ingredients

1 cup chopped dried mixed fruit or raisins

1/3 cup brandy

1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (use freshly ground nutmeg, if possible)

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup persimmon puree (from approximately 2 very ripe Hachiya persimmons)

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions

1. Preaheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter one 9x5-inch loaf pan or three mini loaf pans.

2. In a small bowl, stir together mixed fruit and brandy; set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar.

4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in melted butter, eggs, persimmon puree, brandy-fruit mixture, and chopped nuts. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

5. Pour batter into a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan or divide between three mini loaf pans. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for one hour (40-45 minutes for mini loaves) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Cool on a wire rack. Store well-wrapped bread at room temperature for up to a week or freeze for longer storage.

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Kitchen equipment used in this recipe:
(Amazon affiliate links)

  • mini loaf pan

Related Recipes:

  • Persimmon Cookies
  • Tabbouleh with Fuyu Persimmons and Almonds
  • Cherry Banana Muffins with White Chocolate Chips
  • Whole Wheat Applesauce Spice Muffins

Hachiya Persimmon Recipes around the Web:

  • Persimmon Bread at David Lebovitz
  • Persimmon Cookies at Simply Recipes
  • Persimmon Pudding Cake with Saffron at Eclectic Recipes
  • Hachiya Persimmon Cake at Fresh Approach Cooking

Fuyu Persimmon Recipes around the Web:

  • Whole Wheat Couscous Salad with Persimmons at Kalyn’s Kitchen
  • Persimmon Pomegranate Fruit Salad at Simply Recipes
  • Persimmon Salad with Ginger, Mint, and Yogurt at The Kitchn
  • Lemony Persimmon Muffins at Mango & Tomato
  • Persimmon Spice Muffins from In Erika’s Kitchen
Whole Wheat Persimmon Bread Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

Filed Under: Adventures in Baking, Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Holiday

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joyti says

    November 22, 2010 at 5:26 pm

    We do have a lovely variety of squash, citruses, persimmons, pomegranates, and other jewel-toned goodies in our farms and markets out here in California, don't we? Its wonderful. And the persimmon bread sounds amazing. I've not experimented much with persimmons, but this sounds like a great way to go.
    Reply
  2. moowiesqrd says

    November 22, 2010 at 5:36 pm

    Yeah, I had a handful of Fuyus that were as soft as Hachiyas and I needed to do something with them or throw them out. Saw David's post and halved the recipe, too... except I forgot to halve the butter or eggs! Turned out to be one of those things that should have been disastrous, but ended up turning out great. Great call on the whole wheat flour... with all of the holiday eating, I think any reason to make it healthier helps. See you at Food Blog Camp! It's been a while since we met at Eclipse Chocolat!
    Reply
  3. Adie says

    November 22, 2010 at 5:39 pm

    hello! will normal whole wheat flour do? but i think that will make the bread really hard and chewy, so a mixture of whole+white flour? Thanks!
    Reply
  4. nancy@skinnykitchen says

    November 22, 2010 at 7:45 pm

    I love persimmons...What a great idea to add them to a quick bread!
    Reply
  5. Charles G Thompson says

    November 22, 2010 at 8:29 pm

    Thanks for the tip about the Beard book which I have. I stood in front of the persimmon display while shopping today pondering buying some - now I will have to! Happy Thanksgiving.
    Reply
  6. Ali @ Gimme Some Oven says

    November 22, 2010 at 8:56 pm

    Beautiful! I love the orange flecks, too!
    Reply
  7. the blissful baker says

    November 22, 2010 at 10:32 pm

    what a unique quick bread! it looks delicious. i have a bunch of fuyus in the fridge that i've been snacking the past week. i need to get my hand on some hachiyas though, so i can make a loaf of this bread!
    Reply
  8. Kalynskitchen says

    November 23, 2010 at 7:06 am

    Oh wow, does that ever look delicious. I was just introduced to persimmons last year when Andrea of Rookie Cookie sent me a box of them, and I had so much fun experimenting with them!
    Reply
  9. Rachel says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:05 pm

    Persimmons are my favorite fall fruit. They seem to rare and hard to come by that any persimmon purchase I make is treasured! Looks like it's worth patiently waiting for fruit to ripen to make this bread! It's beautiful! Great tip on the water balloon feel - now I know what to wait for.
    Reply
  10. Erika - In Erika's Kitchen says

    November 23, 2010 at 5:31 pm

    Looks fantastic - can't wait to try it! I'm still in my experimental stages with persimmons. Glad to have another recipe to try.
    Reply
  11. Olga @ MangoTomato says

    November 23, 2010 at 7:44 pm

    it looks sweet, dense and healthy all at the same time! Yum. I wish I had friends with persimmon trees :)
    Reply
  12. Lori4squaremom says

    November 24, 2010 at 11:37 am

    I am so excited to have found your recipe! As well as your blog. I live in Visalia, and also love to cook for friends and family, and nourish their hearts, souls, bodies and tummy's :) with good local wholesome foods. I am very excited to try your bread today and am going to serve it tomorrow (for Thanksgiving) with a slightly sweetened cream cheese spread. I was wondering though, you have the dried fruit mentioned twice in your ingredient list, but only once in your directions. Are you using 1 cup or 2 cups of dried fruit? I posted my grandmother's persimmon cookie recipe (that I tweaked 10 years ago using natural sweeteners and whole wheat pastry flour), if you are interested in seein git for another use for those WONDERFUL persimmons.
    Reply
  13. Julie says

    November 25, 2010 at 11:08 am

    i just happened upon your blog. I grew up in the San Joaquin Valley. Now I live in Colorado and the thing I miss most about the Valley is the produce, hands down. I love your blog! I feel like it brings me a piece of home!
    Reply
  14. Alelunetta says

    November 28, 2010 at 6:54 am

    bellissimi e molto originali! never tasted a persimmon bread, should be delicious! I'm going to buy some persimmons to make it!!!!! :)
    Reply
  15. Nicole says

    November 29, 2010 at 12:52 pm

    Lori4squaremom: I'm sorry about the mistake on the ingredients list! There should only be one cup of dried fruit added to the bread (adding more won't hurt, but I only intended to call for one cup). I've fixed it now. Thanks so much for pointing it out! -Nicole
    Reply
  16. Karin @yum and more says

    December 10, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    oooohhhh just found this - looks fab - is on my list for soon.......yuuuummm
    Reply
  17. Misha Barton says

    December 17, 2016 at 9:21 am

    wow, it looks so delicious.Thanks for sharing and for your hard work.I'll try this recipe and let you know how sweet it is.
    Reply
  18. Food And Drink blogs says

    December 27, 2017 at 1:23 am

    Beautiful! I love the orange flecks, too!
    Reply

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