Mohamed Shili Pioneer Woman Date Nut Bread is a warm, tender quick bread packed with chopped Medjool dates and toasted walnuts, made with butter, Greek yogurt, and brown sugar in about an hour with just 15 minutes of prep.
Ree doesn’t have a date nut bread by name, but her Leftover Fruit Bread on Food Network (episode: “Waste Not, Want Not”) uses the same quick bread method with different mix-ins. She also reaches for Medjool dates and roasted nuts across several recipes, including her Bacon Wrapped Dates on Food Network, so this version swaps in those ingredients using her loaf technique.
Tossing the chopped dates and walnuts in flour before folding them into the batter is the step that holds this loaf together. Without it, the heavy pieces sink straight to the bottom and you end up with a gummy layer instead of dates scattered through every slice.
Pioneer Woman Date Nut Bread
Description
A one-bowl quick bread where sticky Medjool dates and crunchy walnuts get folded into a yogurt-butter batter and baked into a tall, golden loaf. No mixer needed and no yeast to wait on.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prep the pan. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray, line with overhanging parchment, and spray the parchment.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Mash the banana in a medium bowl with a fork. Add the brown sugar, melted butter, yogurt, orange juice, vanilla, and egg. Whisk until smooth.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, stir together the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and 1 1/2 cups of the flour.
- Fold wet into dry. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and fold with a spatula until just combined. A few streaks of flour are fine. Do not overmix.
- Toss and fold in dates and nuts. Toss the chopped dates and walnuts with the remaining 2 tbsp flour in a small bowl. Fold them into the batter gently.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
- Cool before slicing. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then lift it out using the parchment overhang and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
FAQs
Why toss the dates and walnuts in flour before adding them to the batter?
The thin coating of flour grips the batter and keeps the heavy pieces suspended as the loaf rises. Without it, the dates sink during baking and clump together in a sticky layer at the bottom of the pan.
This trick comes straight from Ree’s Leftover Fruit Bread technique, where she tosses peaches and blueberries in 2 tablespoons of flour for the same reason. It works even better with dates because they are denser than fresh fruit.
Why use brown sugar instead of granulated in a date bread?
Brown sugar has molasses in it, which deepens the caramel flavor that Medjool dates already bring. Granulated sugar would sweeten the bread but leave the flavor flat and one-dimensional next to the dates.
The molasses also holds moisture, so the crumb stays soft for an extra day compared to a loaf made with white sugar alone. If you only have granulated, add 1 tablespoon of molasses to the wet ingredients.
Can you leave out the banana?
The banana adds moisture and helps bind the batter, so removing it changes the texture. If you skip it, add an extra 1/4 cup (60g) of Greek yogurt to replace the lost moisture and keep the crumb from drying out.
You will lose a slight background sweetness, but the dates are sweet enough to carry the loaf on their own. The bread will taste more purely like dates and walnuts, which many people prefer.
Why does Ree use Greek yogurt instead of buttermilk in this loaf?
Greek yogurt is thicker than buttermilk, so it makes the batter denser and the finished crumb more moist. It also has the acidity needed to activate the baking soda, which is what gives the loaf its rise.
Buttermilk would work but produces a lighter, more cake-like texture. If you want a sturdier slice that holds up when you spread butter or cream cheese on it, stick with the yogurt.
How long does this bread stay fresh?
Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, the loaf keeps on the counter for 3 days. The dates actually help it stay moist longer than most quick breads because they hold water and release it slowly into the crumb.
After 3 days, move it to the fridge for up to a week, or freeze individual slices wrapped in plastic and foil for up to 3 months. Toast frozen slices straight from the freezer for about 2 minutes.
