Do you have a few large oak trees in or around your property? Are you lucky enough to gather some up before the squirrels and weevils get to them? Did you know you can process them and eat them? Okay so assuming you followed my post on how to process acorns to eat and now have some acorn flour you need some ideas to make with it. There are all kinds of things you can make with acorn flour and acorn bread is one of my favorites. Homemade acorn bread is healthy and hearty and is great to eat during the holiday season when acorns are in season. If I can do it, you can do it. Let’s get started!
Step 1: Gather ingredients and tools
First, in order to make this yummy acorn bread, you need to gather up those ingredients and tools. You will need the following:
- Water – It is always a good idea to use filtered water unless your tap water tastes good.
- Yeast – I normally use active dry yeast but you can use rapid rise or instant yeast as well.
- Oil – Vegetable oil, canola oil, olive oil, and coconut oil are all good choices for this bread.
- White Granulated Sugar – adds a bit of sweetness to the bread.
- Honey – the honey will enhance the flavor and add some natural sweetness.
- Salt – the salt brings out the flavor of the other ingredients
- Acorn Flour – This is the star of this dish, you can make acorn bread without acorn flour. Do you need to know how to process your acorns into acorn flour? Read this post.
- Flour – Bread four or all-purpose flour is needed as the base otherwise the bread won’t turn out correctly.
Tools
- Bowls
- Wooden spoon
- Damp cloth
- 9x5 inch bread pan
Step 2: Get the yeast started
Now we want to get the yeast started. In one of your bowls heat up the water until it is between 105 and 115 F (40 to 44 C). You can heat it up on the stovetop or in the microwave. Next, add in about 1 tsp. of your white granulated sugar. The sugar will be food for the yeast and help it thrive. Agitate the mixture with a fork or whisk, then set it aside and let the yeast do its thing. After 5 to 10 minutes the yeast should be nice and foamy or frothy. If after 10 minutes the yeast hasn’t done anything then it means the yeast is old, or maybe the water was too hot or too cold. You will need to start again.
Step 3: Add in the rest of the ingredients
Once the yeast has been activated we add the rest of the white granulated sugar to the bowl of yeast. Then add in the oil, honey, and half of the all-purpose or bread flour. Use a wooden spoon to mix all those ingredients together. Next, we add in the acorn flour and combine it with the wooden spoon. Or you can certainly use a stand mixer too if you like. The dough will be forming at this point. Now add some more of the flour and the salt. Leave some flour left over for kneading. Once the dough has come together and is a bit tacky, but not too sticky it is reading to be kneaded.
Step 4: Knead the acorn bread dough
Time to knead the dough. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook you can certainly use that. To this day I still hand knead all of my doughs. I enjoy it. Place the dough on a floured counter or table. Knead the dough for about 8 minutes. Add more flour to the dough as it gets sticky again. To knead the dough fold it over onto to itself and then push down and out with the palm of your hand stretching the dough slightly. Then turn it a quarter turn and repeat. When you are done you may or may not have a little bit of all-purpose four left.
Step 5: Let it rise
Now we need to let the dough rise. Place the dough in a large bowl that has been sprayed with kitchen spray or use a tsp. or so of oil. Cover it with a damp cloth and set in a warm place to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Alternatively, you can place the dough in a dough proofer, which I always do, I love my dough proofer.
Step 6: Shape, Rise, and Bake the acorn bread dough
Once the dough has at least doubled, punch it down with your hand and place it on a floured counter or table. Shape the dough with your hands into a loaf and place in a sprayed 9x5 bread pan.
Cover the dough again with the damp cloth and let it rise for another hour or so. Again you can put it back in the dough proofer if you have one of those. After that bake the bread in a preheated oven at 350 F (176 C) for around 35 minutes. Check it after 25 minutes and if it is getting too brown on the top cover it with some aluminum foil. It should have a light golden brown color on top. Next, take the bread out of the oven and let it cool in the pan for a few minutes.
Step 7: Serve up that yummy bread!
Now remove the loaf from the pan and place it on a wire rack to cool completely. Once the acorn bread is cooled, slice into it and serve it with some butter, honey, jam or whatever else you like. It is scrumptious plain as well. Enjoy!
Acorn Bread
Equipment
- Bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Damp cloth
- 5x9 bread pan
- kitchen spray
Ingredients
- 1 cup of water 240mL
- 2 1/4 tsp. of active dry yeast 11g
- 2 Tbsp. of oil vegetable, olive, coconut, etc. (30mL)
- 1/3 cup of white granulated sugar 45g
- 2 tsp. of honey 14g
- 1 tsp. of salt 5g
- 1/2 cup of acorn flour 75g
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups of bread flour or all-purpose 300 to 360g
Instructions
- Heat up the water in a bowl to 105 to 115 F (40 to 44 C). Add in a pinch of sugar and the yeast. Set it aside until it gets foamy (5 to 10 minutes)
- Add in the rest of the sugar, oil, honey, and about 1 cup of the all-purpose or bread flour. Combine together with a wooden spoon, unless you are using a stand mixer.
- Now add the acorn flour and mix it in. Next, add in another cup of the all-purpose or bread flour with the salt. The dough should form by now and be a little tacky.
- Dump the dough onto a floured counter or table and knead the dough for about 8 minutes adding extra flour as needed.
- Place the kneaded dough in a lightly sprayed bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 60 to 90 minutes until doubled.
- Once the dough has risen punch it down and then shape it into a loaf. Place the loaf into a lightly sprayed 9x5 inch bread pan. Cover and let rise for another 60 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F (176 C) for 35 minutes. After 25 minutes check the bread. If it is browning too much, cover it with aluminum foil. Once baked, remove the bread and allow it too cool for a few minutes in the pan. Then remove the acorn bread loaf from the pan and allow it to cool on a wire rack. Then serve it with butter, jam, or honey and enjoy! I also love it plain.
Video
Notes
Do you like the recipe? Please give it a rating and comment down below, I really appreciate it. If you make it tag me on Instagram @inthekitchenwithmatt. Also, sign up for the newsletter so you won’t miss out on any of my new posts and recipes.
Here are a few other recipes and posts you may like:
Thank you so much for sharing! This is an amazing recipe! My nine year old is learning about the Native Americans and we tied it all in by making acorn bread! It was a big winner and we’re looking forward to making this a tradition.
You are so very welcome! 🙂 And thank you, so glad you liked it. 🙂 That is awesome!
I tried this recipe making the flour from blue oak (Quercus Douglasii) acorns from our property near Palo Cedro, Ca. The bread was amazing. I will make it again. Before trying it, I didn’t even know you could eat acorns. Now I’m a fan.
That is so awesome, Tom!! Glad you tried it and liked it. 🙂
I’m about to make my first loaf with the same acorns. We had a bumper crop this year – wow!
Nice! Let me know how they turn out. 🙂
I’ve made this recipe 3 times so far and I love how it comes out and its getting better every time. Your instructions are so perfect–I never made bread from scratch with no bread machine. I have found it takes a while for the dough to rise…the last time I kept it in the refrigerator overnight…and I think that increased the flavor quite a bit. Today I left the dough in the proofing oven for most of the day…7 hours!! I want to try a sourdough version of acorn bread next!
That is awesome!! I am so glad you keep making it and that the instructions are clear. 🙂 Let me know how the sourdough experiment goes.
Great article.
Thanks so much, Anjelica! 🙂
Hhhhhmmmm….this should be a nice one to try out, one of these days! Good thing, I got your recipe and directions right here.
Thanks!
I have yet to make bread from scratch. This looks really interesting to make.
Thank you, Lily! 🙂
I love this bread and wish I could try it out sometime somewhere. I really envy you for the wonderful recipes that you keep dishing out.
Thank you! 🙂
Matt, I read My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead and I have wanted to make acorn bread ever since. You have made a childhood dream come true.
That is so awesome, Terri! 🙂 🙂
Wow! This bread recipe sounds delicious. I’d like to try it for the family sometime.
Thank you, Dana!
Looks very good. Next time I’m tripping over acorns I might just try this bread. I bake bread quite a bit. I let the bread maker do the kneading and proofing, then I put it into loaf pans. Makes good bread every time. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks, Leslie!
Acorn bread sounds interesting — I didn’t know that this was a thing. I would love to taste it — you need to send me a slice! LOL
lol 🙂 🙂
wow, such a yummy looking bread, I always try making banana bread at home, I will try out this new recipe.
Thank you, Nina! 🙂 Let me know how it turns out if you make it. 🙂
I had no idea that you could make acorn bread and acorn flour? That’s the first I have heard of this. I must try your acorn bread recipe, just to see if I like it.
Definitely give it a try sometime, Brandy! 🙂
I’ve never heard of acorn bread before. It definitely sounds like something we would enjoy!
Awesome, Heather! 🙂
Bread like this is always a good thing to do for the start of a home dinner party for sure. thanks for the recipe x
Thank, Melanie! 🙂
Oh, I have never heard of acorn flour before, definitely seems like its worth to be checked out! As always, great recipe!
Thank you, Lisa! 🙂
This sounds like a fun and simple recipe to make. I didn’t even know Acorn Bread was a thing! Pretty cool!
Thank you, Monica! 🙂 Definitely not a normal ingredient, that’s for sure, haha.
Acorns? I never would have thought to eat them. They’re for squirrels in my small world. I feel like I’m missing out on something here. How would you describe the flavor? Comparable to chestnuts, perhaps?
Hey Scott, in and of themselves the roasted acorns have a nutty bland flavor. Usually, people will salt them for plain eating. But when ground up into a flour, and combined with wheat flour, it creates a delightful slightly dense bread. Definitely very yummy!
Ouuuu this looks like such a delicious recipe!! I’d love to try making them this weekend. I’ve never used acorn flour for bread before.
Thank you, Emily! You should give it a try sometime. 🙂
uh I should try it immediately, looks very tasty and easy for me XD
I can’t wait to make this. Thanks for this detailed recipe, love it!
You are very welcome! 🙂
i have never done any baking w/ acorn flour. i did not even know acorn flour existed. thank you for enlightening me. what is the texture like? and what is your favorite thing to put on the bread? joy
The texture is fairly dense with a sweet nutty taste. I like to put butter on it. 🙂
I’ve never heard of Acorn bread! I’m very excited to give this a try.
Awesome! 🙂 🙂
We have tons of acorns on our property, but never once have I thought about doing this. My kids are going to love gathering acorns for this recipe. I can’t wait to try it. Fingers crossed it turns out good! lol
Good luck! 🙂 🙂 Hopefully the squirrels won’t be too upset with you…lol
You always come up with something unique and so cool to eat. This is one of them. I can’t wait to make this.
Thanks so much, Bill! 🙂
I have never made my own acorn flour, but now I want to! Thank you for sharing how! This bread sounds like it just melts in your mouth!
You are so very welcome, Natalie! 🙂
I have never used acorn flour before but I’m so excited to try it in this!
Awesome! 🙂
I love trying new dishes and I’ve never had acorn bread before. Sounds like great excuse to make it this weekend. Thanks.
Thanks, Jen! 🙂
I need an acorn tree!! I have fruit trees & a pecan tree, but I’m missing an acorn tree. This bread looks wonderful & so soft!!
Yes!! haha, I actually just gather the acorns from the “Live Oak” trees at my nearby church building. haha. Live Oaks are the most common here in the Phoenix Valley.