While we love cooking with the season, winter can be a bit tough, even in California. Lots of produce is available, but some of it has moderate appeal (we love kale, turnips and broccoli, but not every day) and some is just confounding. We love our pomegranates, but they are hard to eat and you can only sprinkle the seeds on so many salads. The citrus is a bright spot, but somehow tends to end up in desserts and cocktails, and after lemon chicken how many savory dishes are there?. And then we have Persimmons. These bright orange, beautiful fruits light up the farmers market, but what do you do with them?
For Fuyu persimmons, the round ones, the answer is easy. Treat them like apples and place raw slices into salads or serve with cheese or charcuterie. But what about the heart-shaped Hachiya persimmons, what to do with them? It turns out you need to let them ripen almost to the point of rot over-ripeness and then scoop out the pulp. The pulp will be very sweet with pumpkin and citrus notes. One of the more popular uses of Hachiya pulp is to freeze it and serve it like sorbet, but the other primary use is in baking. And this is where we get to this amazing sweet bread. And we don’t mean “amazing way to get rid of persimmons” we simply mean “amazing”. This bread is one of the best surprises we’ve had here at Putney Farm.
In some ways, we shouldn’t be surprised. The recipe comes from David Lebovitz, one of the best pasty chefs and food writers in the world, and is adapted from a James Beard recipe. Yep, James Beard. The original recipe comes for his book “Beard on Bread“. So we are working from some very solid source materials. Ironically, the recipe itself is a bit “squishy”. You are encouraged to add or subtract sugar to your taste, add some booze and play with different dried fruit and nut combinations. We even use some white whole wheat flour with good results. But the unifying factor is the Hachiya persimmon pulp. It gives a bright pumpkin note and keeps this bread incredibly sweet and moist. With the fruit, nuts and spice this bread has lovely texture and flavor. You can eat it at breakfast, or as a daytime snack or even dessert.
And making the bread is a straightforward operation. First you must buy and then ripen some Hachiya persimmons. Leave them out and wait. They are ripe when they feel like overripe tomatoes about to burst (Lebovitz describes it as “water balloon about to burst”). You may also see discoloration on the skin, but that is OK. When the persimmons are ripe, spoon out the pulp and purée in a blender, food processor of food mill. Then you are ready to go. And making the rest of the bread is easy. Chop some nuts and dried fruit, we use pecans and dried cranberries, but walnuts, raisins, apricots or dates will work. Then make a standard sweet bread. Combine the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients, make a batter. Butter some loaf plans, then pour in the batter. Bake for an hour at 350 (the kitchen will smell great), cool and serve. And enjoy, this is the good stuff. So when winter produce gets you down, buy a few Hachiya persimmons, let them ripen and make this bread. It will be a bright spot in winter.
Persimmon Bread:
(Adapted from James Beard and David Lebovitz)
Notes Before You Start:
- Hachiya persimmons are more heart shaped than Fuyus. They must be very, very ripe (looking almost overripe) to be sweet. Don’t do anything with Hachiyas until fully ripe, otherwise they are tannic and bitter.
- Few recipes let you play with sugar content like this one. The Hachiyas add plenty of sweetness, but the extra sugar will make the bread more rich and “sticky”. Your choice.
- With 2/3 of a cup of alcohol suggested, this is a boozy recipe. The alcohol does mostly cook off and makes for great flavor, but substitute fruit juice if you don’t want to include alcohol. If you do use the booze, Cognac or Armagnac will be your best bet.
What You Get: Incredibly tasty bread / dessert / snack. This bread is good with butter, jam or even ice cream. A pleasant surprise, and something to do with those persimmons.
What You Need: Ripe Hachiya persimmons. No other special equipment required.
How Long? About 1 hour and 15 minutes, with 10-15 minutes of active time. Anytime dish.
Ingredients:
- 3½ cups sifted flour (we use 2 cups whole wheat white flour and 1& 1/2 cups AP flour)
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 to 2½ cups sugar (we use 2 cups)
- 1 cup melted unsalted butter, cooled to room temperature
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
- 2/3 cup Cognac, Armagnac, bourbon or whiskey (we use Armagnac)
- 2 cups persimmon puree (from about 4 very ripe Hachiya persimmons)
- 2 cups pecans, toasted and chopped (substitute walnuts)
- 2 cups dried cranberries (or substitute diced dried fruits such as raisins, apricots or dates)
Assemble:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 loaf pans. Line the bottoms with a piece of parchment paper or dust with flour and tap out any excess.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and then stir in the butter, eggs, liquor, persimmon puree, pecans and cranberries.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pans and then place the pans in the oven. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan. Then remove the bread from the pans and serve.
Related articles
- Farmers’ Market Report: Pursuing Persimmons (kcet.org)
- Persimmon – A Seasonal Treat (nathanyates.wordpress.com)
- Persimmon 411 (toxicfoodie.org)
- Mixed Greens with Persimmon, Pomegranate, and Manchego Cheese (carriefehr.com)
- Pumpkin Persimmon Walnut Bread (greenling.com)
- Fall Foraging (putneyfarm.com)
- Drink of the Week: Persimmon Champagne Cocktail (nj.com)
Putney Farm 
This DOES look amazing! 🙂 I’ve only had persimmon bread once, baked by my old roommate’s mom– also in northern California… I guess that’s the thing to do!
I usually save my hachiya persimmons to the point of over-ripeness, like you said, and then slice off the tops, and eat the inside with a spoon out of the peel-bowl, like some kind of pudding-y dessert. (A pretty popular way to eat them in Korea in the summertime– along with freezing them, then doing the same 🙂
Thanks! The Hachiyas are good just scooped and eaten, as you said.
Didn’t know the persimmons were popular in Korea…very cool…never seen them anywhere except California…
Beautiful! I’m drooling over here:0)
Thanks! This is really good….
what a looker!
Thx!
This looks extremely good! I definitely could have a slice of thispersimmon bread right now. Will make one this weekend! I think having it with a beautiful ice cream, it will be perfect. Yum!
It does go well w/ ice cream…we tried it!
What pretty pastry! I would love to make this! And would also like to sub another fruit…can u recommend another that would be just as pretty and delicous as the persimmon in this bread? Thank you for allowing me to be the oddball who wants to re-create this recipe and make it a versatile one. 🙂
Lebovitz suggested mashed very ripe bananas as a possible substitute…we haven’t tried it, but he knows what he is doing…
hmmmm, i was thinking of mango..pureed…whaddayathink?
Similar texture and moisture content so worth a try…we don’t bake much with mango so can’t say for sure…
thank you. will let u know when i make it. 🙂
Can’t wait to hear how it goes. Good luck!
I was SO happy when I first discovered persimmon bread! Our neighbor in CA had a persimmon tree and would bring bags of the fruits over to us, and I never knew what to do with them… until then. Then I’d go begging him for persimmons so I could put loaves in the freezer for over the winter!
hello, putneyfarm… sorry it’s been a while since i visited. 🙂 oh, the parsimmon breads look delicious, especially in the first pic. but you sound strict with your instructions, sir… 😉 btw, parsimmons are not common around here. one can only find them at certain downtown markets and high-end supermarkets… just a thought, what about the consistency of the bread, wouldn’t it soften after a while? or is it alright just as long as it’s put in the freezer like other fruit cakes… oh, better with cognac than fruit juice, ahaha. i suppose, it blends right with a mild-flavored ice cream, just as you said… am going to try it one of these days. 😉
thank you for this post and best regards to you and the farm folks… 🙂 ~San
Wow …. That smell is to die for !!! Wouldn’t mind a couple of slices with my coffee now – back home and everything unpacked … will crawl up in my bed with a big mug of coffee with warm milk now – and this would go perfect with that mug.
Haven’t a white envelop arrived yet ????
Great to be back here. *smile
Hi! We just got the gift! Thank you soo much, it is very kind and generous of you! And we like your taste in music (the kids also approve- well done!).
Glad you are back safe from your travels…seems like an “eventful” trip!
Great, thanks for letting me know – sent over 28 envelops all over the world, but they have been delivered very uneven. So I have been a bit worried.
Australia got before Europe.
Glad the kids enjoy the music too – I have a very broad music taste.
persimmon puree ??? What can I use instead – will not be able to get this .. over here.
Mashed ripe bananas are the suggested substitute (by Davis Lebovitz) and the consistency is similar to banana bread. It will be a bit sweeter..
Brilliant .. I will give this a go – after Christmas.
Just saw a fresh batch of persimmons arrive at my local coop market. I think I’ll be baking bread this weekend. 🙂 Looks delicious!
Excellent- hope you enjoy it!
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I’m not much of a baking frontrunner, so I’m feeling very pleased that in November I made James Beard’s persimmon bread and still have the recipe sitting on my iPad screen. It was really good. Your version here has more ingredients and I think would be even better, so I’m really pleased. My CSA made a mistake and I ended up with a large box of Fuyus instead of Hachiyas. I had wanted the baking…And now I’m eating persimmons to the point I know longer care. They are beautiful, though!
Hope you like salad with all those Fuyus!
Reblogged this on My Plan For World Domination and commented:
Another Persimmon recipe to try!
Such a unique way to use persimmons!! Thank you for the tips for using the Fuyu and Hachiya presimmons! We made a Portugese sweet bread (Massa Sovada) with lemon and posted our experiences on our blog : http://stovetopsandstilettos.com/
Feel free to check it out! 🙂 Thanks!
Thanks! We will check it out….we have lemons so always looking for recipes..
Awesome! Thanks! We would love your feedback! 🙂
Pingback: 8 Healthy Permissons Recipes for the Sweet, Seasonal Winter Fruit
Pingback: 8 Healthy Permissons Recipes for the Sweet, Seasonal Winter Fruit
I made this tonight 🙂 no alcohol so I used Apple grape juice, used raisins and no nuts. Let’s so how it turns out 😉
It turned out great 🙂 my kids did not like the raisins so I now make it with no raisins and still using juice. Tonight I used white grape 😉
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This is a great recipe! I’m in Kyrgyzstan (though I’m from California) and nobody has heard of persimmon bread here so it has been fun making it for them. Used Kyrgyz cognac, walnuts, and a mixture of dried apples, pears, and raisins because that’s what I had. Happy Holidays!
I loved this recipe! I made it using a gluten-free flour, and I substituted Amaretto for the cognac. Everyone loved it!! I will definitely make it again!
Having received boxes and boxes of persimmons (Hachiya) I have been dehydrating them and enjoying & gifting them. I’d heard of persimmon bread but sounded like something my great grandmother would’ve liked, not me. I just completed four mini loafs and one large loaf : YUM!
I did put booze in it, 1/3 cup of brandy and 1/3 cup of room and a splash of Grand Marnier, cause that’s all I had in the house. Its so tender, rich and moist. Definately going to become a seasonal favorite of mine !
I tried making this and the four loaves that I gave a way were a huge hit. The house smelled wonderful. I have now made four more loaves. I used pecans and dates and whiskey. It was fantastic!!!
I never thought of using persimmons in a bread recipe. Great idea that I will try.
I’m always amazed at how versatile this recipe is! I am in Croatia right now and can only find Fuyu persimmons so used part pumpkin and part banana, used the 2.5 cups of sugar, raisins, walnuts, cranberries and Croatian rum and again came out delicious! Thanks again! Happy Holidays!
My sister uses 2/3 cup of buttermilk instead of the liquor and it’s delicious. She freezes the ripe persimmons whole in a ziploc bag until she needs them. Then she pulls out what she needs, defrosts them on the counter and uses them to make bread.
This was outrageously good! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
I just put them in the oven. I picked this recipe over the one I usually make from all recipes because it took more persimmons, and I have many many very ripe persimmons. I’ll let you know.