Honey and walnut bread

After having walnut bread at various restaurants, I've been on the look out for a good/interesting walnut bread recipe. I ended up using britishlarder's recipe for spelt, honey and walnut bread.

I changed it slightly, adding a bit more honey and swapping spelt for strong wholemeal flour. The bread turned out delicious! The taste of the walnut is so distinct and honey - MMM. It's a simple recipe and the kitchenaid did most of the work. It looks so pretty after cutting the patterns on top and brushing the dough with egg yolk.
The bread when warm has a crunchy outside and a soft inside. Delicious even on its own. Definitely a keeper. It didn't even take too long to make. Apart from waiting for the dough to double in size.

Honey and walnut bread
minor changes made below - do refer to britishlarder for original recipe
makes 2 loaves

250g strong white flour
250g strong wholemeal flour
10g table salt
7g dried yeast
2 Tbsp honey
260ml warm water
150g walnuts

1 egg yolk

1. Place yeast, 50g flour and honey in a small mixing bowl and add 50g of the water, mix well, cover and leave to prove for 30 minutes in a warm spot until the mixture starts to bubble.
2. In the bowl of a mixer add the remaining flour, bubbling yeast mixture, walnuts, salt and the remaining water together. Attach the dough hook and mix the bread dough on slow speed for 10 minutes.
3. Grease a large mixing bowl. Once the dough is ready turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape the bread dough into a smooth ball. Place the smooth bread dough into the greased mixing bowl and cover the bowl with a clean dry tea towel. Leave to prove until the dough has risen to double in size.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C and dust two baking sheets with flour, set aside.
5. Gently turn the bread dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide the dough into even size dough balls.
6. Roll each ball into a evenly shaped smooth ball, place each ball onto the dusted floured tray and cover gently with cling film or a clean dry tea towel and leave it to prove for the second time until nearly double in size. Brush the risen bread carefully with the egg yolk and use a knife to make small cuts at the top of the risen bread.
7. Place the baking sheets in the preheated oven and pour 100ml of cold water directly onto the floor of the oven and shut the door quickly. The water will give a burst of steam that will help the loaves to puff and form a lovely crust.
8. After about 10-12 minutes, place a sheet of foil over the bread if it is browning too quickly.
9. Bake the loaves for 35 - 40 minutes, give the bread a tap at the bottom and if it sounds hollow it means the bread is cooked, place the bread onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.