James Beard’s Persimmon Bread: A Perfect Way to Use Hachiya Persimmons

Persimmon bread – the perfect way to use up all that gorgeous hachiya persimmon pulp. This hachiya persimmon recipe, a riff of the famous James Beard quick bread, makes two loaves or 16 minis so you can get ahead on your holiday gift giving.

Also a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving feast.

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Persimmon Bread – A Unique Quick Loaf for Fall and Thanksgiving

As with many dishes in my kitchen, this recipe started with an abundance of a food item beckoning me to find a creative way to use it up. In this case, it was a lovely gift of Hachiya persimmons from a friend.

I knew very little about persimmons, especially the Hachiya variety. I researched the myriad possibilities and decided to make a variation on James Beard’s famous persimmon bread.

Why is it famous? Probably because in the culinary world, James Beard is well-known or perhaps it’s because of the variable quantity of sugar or maybe the volume of cognac. Or maybe the one-bowl preparation. No matter – this persimmon bread recipe is fun to make and to eat!

Why you’ll love this recipe

This Hachiya persimmon recipe is flexible and easy to prepare. You’ll see in my step-by-step instructions below and in the recipe card, all the variations you can make and still end up with a wonderful loaf of persimmon bread.

It also makes 2 loaves or 16 minis. So it’s a great quick bread to bake and freeze or to give away as gifts. I like to make one large loaf and 8 minis.

A slice of the bread stands up to a slathering of cream cheese at breakfast but also tastes great on its own especially with a cup of tea or coffee.

The first time I made it, I tucked a loaf away in the freezer to serve on Thanksgiving Day. It was a lovely addition to the buffet – providing complementary flavors to the rich, sweet, and savory aromas of the meal.

Ingredients you’ll need

• Hachiya Persimmons: Be sure to use hachiyas for this recipe and not fuyus. Fuyus are the short squat persimmon that is firm and crisp and eaten more like an apple. The hachiya, on the other hand, is ripe when it becomes soft. You extract the pulp and use it for cooking and baking. Hachiyas are a deeper orange color than fuyus and more elongated and tear-dropped shape.

• Butter (or olive oil): The original recipe calls for melted butter. You can substitute olive oil – using ¾ cup olive oil for every cup of butter (3:4 ratio). I’ve made the bread both ways. Personally, I love to bake with olive oil but either one will work well.
• Flour: All-purpose flour is a great choice but I like to add some whole wheat flour to the mix.
• Nuts: Use pecans or walnuts or a combination of both. Original recipe calls for 2 cups – I use 1.5 cups.
• Dried Fruit: Use whatever you have around or a combination. The last time I made this, I combined barberries (tiny cranberry-like tart berry used in Persian cuisine), cranberries, dried apricots and raisins. Just raisins will also work well. For a little extra zing, you can soak the dried fruit in the cognac or some orange juice but this is completely optional and not a required step.
• Cognac: We happen to have cognac in the house but other liquors will work such as bourbon or whiskey, for example.
• Spices: The original recipe calls for just nutmeg. I use a combination of nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and cardamom. Use what you like or what you have around. The idea is to have it add up to about 1 teaspoon of dry warming spices.
• Orange Zest: Orange is a perfect complement to the flavors of this loaf so I added some to the sugar for another layer of flavor. Optional but really excellent.

Steps to make this recipe

How to make persimmon pulp

Make sure your Hachiyas are soft and squishy. If they are still firm, they are not ready to use. Using Hachiya persimmons takes patience – they must be soft! Once they become squishy, then the pulp is ready to be used.

Wash them, cut them in half through the equator, and just scoop out the pulp with a spoon. You can puree the pulp in a blender or food processor. I prefer it a bit chunky so I just used a hand potato masher.

1. Toast your nuts and optionally macerate the dried fruit. If you macerate the dried fruit – just add enough orange juice (or even cognac) to immerse them and about a teaspoon of cinnamon – pour out most of the juice before you use them.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray 2 loaf pans. Line the bottoms with a piece of parchment paper or dust with flour and tap out any excess. (I used one loaf pan and one 8 compartment mini-loaf pan).

3. Sift the first 4 dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. (too lazy to sift? Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and use a whisk to combine) Add the orange-zested sugar and combine.

4. Make a well in the center then stir in the butter (or olive oil), eggs, liquor, persimmon puree then the nuts and raisins.

5. Pour into prepared pans.

6. Bake 50 – 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (the mini loaves took 30 minutes and the large loaf took 50 minutes)

Expert tips and recipe FAQs

• This recipe works really well if you sub in some whole wheat flour. But I don’t recommend all whole wheat as you probably will need extra liquid if you do. I used 2 cups of white whole wheat flour and 1 ½ cups of unbleached flour.
• You can use all nutmeg like the original recipe but I like the addition of some of the warming spices like allspice and cinnamon and even a bit of cardamom. It adds extra nuance to the loaf.
• I was out of regular sugar the first time I made this and used coconut palm sugar and organic regular and it worked out just fine.
• Fearing it would be too much like fruitcake, I reduced the amount of dried fruit and nuts and love the current proportions. But feel free to add more.
• Soaking (macerating) the raisins in some warm orange juice and cinnamon before adding to the mix is a nice touch but not mandatory.
• You could back off on the cognac to ½ cup from 2/3 to make it a little more friendly for the young crowd (not that they didn’t eat and enjoy it anyhow). The alcohol does cook away.
• I also grated about 1/2 tablespoon of orange zest into the sugar and rubbed it in to incorporate the flavor, before I added the sugar to the flour mixture.

More Fun Fall and Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving Menu Ideas and Planner

Vegetable Wellingtons

Soup Shooters

Orange Thyme Cocktail Cookies

Fig Cocktail Cookies

Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good

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Persimmon Bread

adapted from a James Beard recipe

This is a boozy, moist bread with deep luscious fall color and flavors. This recipe makes enough for yourself and a gift for someone special.

4.5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45 mins

Cook Time 50 mins

Total Time 1 hr 35 mins

Course bread

Cuisine American

Servings 16 servings

Calories 550 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 ½ cups all purpose flour I used 2 cups white whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (fresh or jarred)
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• zest from one medium orange
• 2 cups sugar I used 2 cups with a 1/2 tablespoon of orange zest rubbed into it
• 1 cup melted unsalted butter cooled to room temperature or 3/4 cup of olive oil
• 4 large eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup Cognac bourbon or whiskey could work as well
• 2 cups persimmon puree from about 8 squishy-soft Hachiya persimmons**
• 1.5 cups walnuts or pecans toasted and chopped
• 1 cup raisins or a mixture of diced dried fruits (such as apricots, cranberries, or dates) – I used raisins soaked in orange juice and cinnamon

Instructions

 

• Extract the pulp from the hachiya persimmons: Wash them, cut them in half through the equator, and just scoop out the pulp with a spoon. You can puree the pulp in a blender or food processor – I like it a bit chunky so I just used a hand potato masher.
• If you need to toast your nuts, start that process now as well as macerating the raisins if you plan to add this step. If you macerate the raisins – just add enough orange juice to immerse them and about a teaspoon of cinnamon – pour out most of the juice before you use them.
• Butter or spray 2 loaf pans. Line the bottoms with a piece of parchment paper or dust with flour and tap out any excess. (I used one loaf pan and one 8 compartment mini-loaf pan).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sift the first 4 dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add the orange-zested sugar and combine.
• Make a well in the center then stir in the butter, eggs, liquor, persimmon puree then the nuts and raisins.
• Bake 50 – 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (the mini loaves took 30 minutes and the large loaf took 50 minutes)
• Storage: Will keep for about a week, if well-wrapped, at room temperature. The persimmon breads freeze well too.

Notes

**I removed the pulp from 17 persimmons which yielded 4 cups of pulp – I froze the other 2 cups in one cup containers for later use.

• This recipe works really well if you sub in some whole wheat flour. But I don’t recommend all whole wheat as you probably will need extra liquid if you do. I used 2 cups of white whole wheat flour and 1 ½ cups of unbleached flour.
• All nutmeg is fine but using some of the warming spices in pumpkin spice like allspice and cinnamon and a bit of cardamom adds extra nuance to the loaf.
• I was out of regular sugar the first time I made this and used coconut palm sugar and organic regular and it worked out just fine.
• Soaking (macerating) the raisins in some warm orange juice and cinnamon before adding to the mix is a nice touch but not mandatory.
• You could back off on the cognac to ½ cup from 2/3 to make it a little more friendly for the young crowd (not that they didn’t eat and enjoy it anyhow). The alcohol does cook away.

Nutrition

Calories: 550kcalCarbohydrates: 78gProtein: 7gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 77mgSodium: 380mgPotassium: 355mgFiber: 2gSugar: 31gVitamin A: 420IUVitamin C: 20.7mgCalcium: 42mgIron: 3.1mg

Keyword James Beard, persimmon bread, quick bread

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