Fresh Fig & Pistachio Glazed Batter Bread (No Knead!)

Satisfy a sweet-but-not-too-sweet craving with this Fresh Fig & Pistachio Glazed Batter Bread. It’s a lightly sweetened, buttery yeast dough studded with roasted pistachios and sweet fresh figs, topped with just the right amount of honey glaze. Enjoy this bread sliced, toasted and topped with jam, cinnamon sugar, or just slathered in butter. Best of all – no kneading required!

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Have you ever had toasted tea cakes? That’s what this bread reminds me of. It’s a slightly sweet bread with little bits of fruit and nuts spread throughout. The flavor is baklava-inspired, with sweet figs, pistachios, honey, and cinnamon. It’s made for toasting, spreading with butter, and eating alongside tea or coffee.

Fresh Fig and Pistachio Glazed Batter Bread comes together in a single bowl. There’s no need to get a counter or your hands messy from kneading. It’s a no-fuss recipe that’s easy to make, even if you aren’t typically a bread baker.

Grow Your Own Figs

Fresh figs are only available in stores for a short time, if ever. That’s because they must be completely ripened on the tree. If you pick a fig early, it’s dry and vegetal tasting. But a perfectly ripe fig is sweet, syrupy, and rich.

So this is my PSA for growing your own fig trees! Figs grow best in warm climates, but just about anyone can grow a fig tree in a container. Potted fig trees stay compact and fruit within just a year or two. 

Fig trees aren’t fussy to grow. There are so many different varieties to choose from, and they range in colors from dark purple to bright red to yellow-gold. Potted fig trees only ask for sunlight, consistent watering, and the occasional fertilizer.

To get started growing your own potted fig tree, check out these Fruit Grove articles: 

Recipe Instructions

Start by combining the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and yeast.

Then add the milk and softened butter. Beat well for a few minutes until the batter comes together and everything is thoroughly combined.

Next, mix the chopped figs with about a ¼ cup of flour in a small bowl. This coats the figs in flour and helps them stay suspended in the bread dough, rather than sinking to the bottom. Add the flour-coated figs and the pistachios to the batter and mix gently until they are evenly distributed.

Use a spatula to ease the batter into a greased 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan. Smooth out the batter so it lays evenly in the pan. Slice up a few more figs and arrange the slices over the top of the batter. Keep the sliced figs close together since they will spread as the bread rises in the oven.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow the bread to rise in the pan for 30 minutes to an hour, until it has just about reached the top of the pan (or just a little past the top).

Place the bread in a 350°F oven with the rack in the lowest position. Bake for about 45-55 minutes, until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. If the bread is getting too brown too quickly, drape a piece of aluminum foil over the top.

Cool the bread in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert it onto a rack to finish cooling. When the bread is just about to room temperature, mix the glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle the top of the bread with the honey glaze. Slice, butter, and serve!

Enjoy fig recipes? Try my Fig, Pistachio, and Puffed Brown Rice Snack Bars.

Image of bread with sliced figs on top, covered in a white sweet glaze. The bread is on a cutting board with fresh figs around it.

Fresh Fig & Pistachio Glazed Batter Bread (No Knead!)

Satisfy a sweet-but-not-too-sweet craving with this Fresh Fig & Pistachio Glazed Batter Bread. It’s a lightly sweetened, buttery yeast dough studded with roasted pistachios and sweet fresh figs, topped with just the right amount of honey glaze. Enjoy this bread sliced, toasted and topped with jam, cinnamon sugar, or just slathered in butter. Best of all – no kneading required!
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Course Bread
Servings 12 slices

Equipment

  • 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan
  • Stand mixer
  • Small bowl

Ingredients
  

Bread:

  • 3 ½ plus ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast one packet
  • ½ whole milk warmed to about 110℉
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
  • ½ cup roasted pistachios shelled and roughly chopped
  • 1 cup chopped fresh figs 5-6 figs
  • 2-3 fresh figs sliced for decoration

Glaze:

  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1-2 teaspoons milk
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions
 

  • Spray the loaf pan generously with cooking spray. (Or, spread the pan with butter or oil until completely coated.)
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the 3 ½ cups of flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and yeast.
  • Add in the warm milk and unsalted butter and mix with the paddle attachment for about 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally, and beat until the batter is well-combined and smooth.
  • In a small bowl, combine the chopped fresh figs with ¼ cup of flour and toss until the fruit is coated (this is to keep the figs from sinking to the bottom of the loaf). Add the flour-coated figs and pistachios to the batter, and mix gently until the fruit and nuts are evenly distributed.
  • Use a spatula to transfer the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Pat the top of the bread smooth with flour-dusted hands. Lay the fig slices on top of the batter. As the bread bakes the figs will spread, so place them almost touching.
  • Cover the pan lightly with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 30 – 60 minutes, or until the dough is almost level with, or just over, the top of the pan.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the oven rack in the lowest position. Once the oven is hot, bake the bread for 45 – 55 minutes until the top is lightly browned and the bread sounds hollow when you tap on it. If the bread is browning too quickly, tent a piece of foil over the top to prevent it getting too dark.
  • Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for a few minutes once it’s out of the oven. Then ease the loaf out of the pan and let it finish cooling on a rack.
  • While the bread cools, make the glaze. Mix the powdered sugar, honey, salt, and milk (1 teaspoon at a time) in a small bowl until the glaze is thick, but pourable.
  • Once the loaf is cooled to room temperature, spoon the glaze over the top. Slice and serve fresh or toasted with butter, jam, or cinnamon sugar.

TIPS

The sweeter the figs, the better this bread will taste. If you can't find fresh figs, you can also use chopped dried figs for this recipe.
Keyword batter bread, bread, cinnamon, figs, pistachio, sweet bread

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