Walnut Loaf with Brown Sauce, Adapted from Lowney (1908)
A small walnut-and-soft-bread-crumb loaf, basted with butter and served with a milk-based brown sauce containing more chopped walnuts.
- Original yieldYield
- One small loaf with walnut brown sauce, divided into 4 main-course portionsOne small loaf with walnut brown sauce, divided into 4 main-course portions
- PrepPrep time
- CookCook time
- TotalTotal time
Planning estimate includes 15 minutes resting. Make the sauce during the final 15 minutes of baking and the rest. Baking can take longer if the center is not set or has not reached 74°C (165°F).
Published
Original recipe: One small loaf with walnut brown sauce, divided into 4 main-course portions
The story behind the recipe
The walnuts don't stop at the edge of this loaf. More chopped nuts go into its brown sauce, so the accompaniment carries the same ingredient as the center of the meal. It is a small detail in Maria Willett Howard's 1908 recipe, tucked into the last sentence after the loaf comes out of its pan.
Bread, walnuts and a butter basting
This version follows the Nut Loaf on page 163 of the revised Lowney's Cook Book. Soft bread crumbs and chopped nuts are mixed with an egg, butter, water and seasoning. A cover protects the first half of baking, with three butter bastings along the way.
Read more about this recipe
Keep the crumbs soft and the nuts in pieces
Fresh fine bread crumbs belong to this mixture. They aren't the dry granules in a tub of packaged crumbs or the larger crisp flakes of panko. Make them from plain white bread that is still soft enough to crumble, filling the cup lightly before leveling it. The source quantity stays as a cup measure rather than acquiring an unsupported gram equivalent.
Walnuts are the selected nuts here. Howard leaves the species open, calling for chopped nut meats, meaning the edible kernels. Choosing walnuts gives the cook a definite ingredient to buy. Chop them finely enough to distribute among the crumbs while leaving recognizable pieces; nut flour and nut butter would make a different mixture.
The source has another Nut Loaf in its economical chapter. That one uses more nuts, soaks its crumbs in milk and permits bacon fat. Those details don't migrate into this preparation merely because the two dishes share a name. Here the mixture keeps the earlier entry's water choice, melted butter and all-in mixing approach.
Small amounts that deserve a decision
Worcestershire-style seasoning needs an explicit choice for a meatless meal. Many bottles contain anchovies, so this recipe specifies a fish-free vegetarian product rather than leaving the bottle to chance. Egg and dairy remain in the loaf and sauce; this isn't a vegan preparation.
The source's few drops of onion juice become a measured eighth teaspoon here, and the loaf salt is reduced. Those are seasoning decisions for this version. The extra butter used for basting is measured too: one tablespoon reserved for three separate applications. It doesn't come out of the butter already mixed into the loaf.
Keeping the quantities separate is especially helpful at the stove. There is butter in the loaf, a small amount for the pan, another amount for basting, and butter for the sauce. Each is listed where it will be used, rather than leaving the cook to divide one unexplained total.
Brown sauce made with milk
Howard's Brown Sauce permits milk or brown stock. Milk is the choice here, so there is no meat stock hidden in the accompaniment. The butter is browned before flour joins it, and the flour cooks before milk is added gradually. Chopped walnuts finish the sauce, as the loaf entry directs.
This sauce uses more milk than the original formula, making a looser accompaniment for spooning beside the loaf. That change is part of this adaptation, alongside the selected walnuts, fish-free seasoning, reduced loaf salt and measured basting fat. It shouldn't be mistaken for Howard's unchanged sauce proportions.
The final serving is straightforward: let the loaf rest before lifting it from the pan, cut it into portions and offer the walnut sauce alongside. The nuts in the sauce are worth keeping visible. They connect the spoonful beside the slice to the chopped walnuts in the loaf itself.
Nuts, Bread and Beans compares this loaf with older bean rolls and follows their fat and sauce choices.
Make it your wayOriginal: 4 servings · Makes One small loaf with walnut brown sauce, divided into 4 main-course portions
Original recipe: One small loaf with walnut brown sauce, divided into 4 main-course portions
Ingredients
For One small loaf with walnut brown sauce, divided into 4 main-course portions. Quantities are shown as written.
Source measurement convention: US customary. Explicit unit definitions take precedence; unconfirmed measures must be checked before conversion.
Original quantities for One small loaf with walnut brown sauce, divided into 4 main-course portions.
For the loaf
- Fresh fine white bread crumbs, lightly filled and leveled2 cups
- Finely chopped walnuts, not ground to powder1 cup
- Unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, for the loaf1/3 cup
- Water, warmed then cooled to lukewarm1/2 cup
- Fine salt3/4 tsp
- Ground black pepper1/4 tsp
- Vegetarian Worcestershire-style sauce, labeled without fish1/2 tsp
- Freshly squeezed onion juice, from grated onion1/8 tsp
- Large egg, beaten1
- Unsalted butter, melted, reserved for three bastings1 tbsp
- Unsalted butter, for greasing the pan1 tsp
For the walnut brown sauce
- Unsalted butter, for the sauce3 tbsp
- All-purpose flour4 tbsp
- Whole milk2 cups
- Fine salt, for the sauce1/4 tsp
- Ground black pepper, for the sauce1/8 tsp
- Finely chopped walnuts, for the sauce1/4 cup
Measurement notes
- fresh fine white bread crumbs, lightly filled and leveled, finely chopped walnuts, not ground to powder, unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, for the loaf, water, warmed then cooled to lukewarm, whole milk, finely chopped walnuts, for the sauce: US cup: 1 = 236.5882 ml (rounded).
- fine salt, ground black pepper, vegetarian Worcestershire-style sauce, labeled without fish, freshly squeezed onion juice, from grated onion, unsalted butter, for greasing the pan, fine salt, for the sauce, ground black pepper, for the sauce: US tsp: 1 = 4.9289 ml (rounded).
- unsalted butter, melted, reserved for three bastings, unsalted butter, for the sauce, all-purpose flour: US tbsp: 1 = 14.7868 ml (rounded).
Measurement notes
Original ingredients
- 2 cups fresh fine white bread crumbs, lightly filled and leveledUS cup: 1 = 236.5882 ml (rounded).
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts, not ground to powderUS cup: 1 = 236.5882 ml (rounded).
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, for the loafUS cup: 1 = 236.5882 ml (rounded).
- 1/2 cup water, warmed then cooled to lukewarmUS cup: 1 = 236.5882 ml (rounded).
- 3/4 tsp fine saltUS tsp: 1 = 4.9289 ml (rounded).
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepperUS tsp: 1 = 4.9289 ml (rounded).
- 1/2 tsp vegetarian Worcestershire-style sauce, labeled without fishUS tsp: 1 = 4.9289 ml (rounded).
- 1/8 tsp freshly squeezed onion juice, from grated onionUS tsp: 1 = 4.9289 ml (rounded).
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, reserved for three bastingsUS tbsp: 1 = 14.7868 ml (rounded).
- 1 tsp unsalted butter, for greasing the panUS tsp: 1 = 4.9289 ml (rounded).
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, for the sauceUS tbsp: 1 = 14.7868 ml (rounded).
- 4 tbsp all-purpose flourUS tbsp: 1 = 14.7868 ml (rounded).
- 2 cups whole milkUS cup: 1 = 236.5882 ml (rounded).
- 1/4 tsp fine salt, for the sauceUS tsp: 1 = 4.9289 ml (rounded).
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper, for the sauceUS tsp: 1 = 4.9289 ml (rounded).
- 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts, for the sauceUS cup: 1 = 236.5882 ml (rounded).
Equipment
8x4-inch (20x10 cm) loaf pan
Small 1.5-liter saucepan
Whisk
Food thermometer
Instructions
Heat the oven and line the loaf pan
Heat a conventional oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease the 8x4-inch loaf pan with the 1 tsp butter and line its base and long sides with a strip of baking parchment, leaving enough overhang to lift the loaf after resting.
Prepare soft crumbs, walnuts and onion juice
Prepare the fresh fine white bread crumbs from soft plain bread, without drying or toasting them; measure two cups lightly filled and leveled. Finely chop the 1 cup walnuts, leaving small pieces rather than powder. Squeeze juice from a little grated onion and measure the 1/8 tsp onion juice.
Combine the dry and wet ingredients
Mix the crumbs and walnuts with the 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. In a separate bowl, combine the 1/3 cup melted butter, lukewarm water, fish-free Worcestershire-style sauce, onion juice and beaten egg. Keep the butter and water lukewarm rather than hot before adding the egg. Do not taste the uncooked egg mixture.
Fill and cover the loaf pan
Combine the wet and dry mixtures until evenly moistened. Spoon into the prepared pan and press gently into an even layer, reaching the corners. Cover the pan loosely with foil.
Bake covered and apply the first basting
Bake for 15 minutes. Open the foil carefully away from your face, brush the surface with one-third of the 1 tbsp reserved melted basting butter and replace the cover. Bake for another 15 minutes.
Uncover and complete the bastings
At 30 minutes, remove the foil and brush with another third of the basting butter. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, then apply the final third of the basting butter. Continue baking to about 60 minutes in total. If the surface darkens too quickly, cover it loosely again.
Check the center and rest the loaf
Check the center with a food thermometer: it must reach at least 74°C (165°F), and the middle should be set rather than wet and loose. If needed, continue in 10-minute intervals, covering the top loosely if already browned. Rest in the pan for 15 minutes before lifting out with the parchment and cutting.
Brown butter and flour for the sauce
During the final 15 minutes of baking, melt the 3 tbsp sauce butter in the small saucepan over medium-low heat. Let it become golden brown, watching closely so it doesn't burn. Stir in the flour, 1/4 tsp sauce salt and 1/8 tsp sauce pepper, and cook, stirring, until the flour mixture is evenly light brown and has no dry patches.
Whisk in milk and finish with walnuts
Whisk in the whole milk a little at a time, keeping the mixture smooth before adding more. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring so the sauce doesn't catch. Stir in the 1/4 cup sauce walnuts and heat through. Keep warm over very low heat, stirring occasionally, while the loaf rests.
Divide and serve with the sauce
Divide the rested loaf into four portions. Serve the warm walnut brown sauce beside or spooned over each portion. Keep any unused sauce separate from the loaf for cooling and storage.
Estimated calories 680 kcal
Nutrition portion: 1/4 of recipe · Original yield: One small loaf with walnut brown sauce, divided into 4 main-course portions
Source & assumptions
Ingredient-based estimate using CoFID 2021, USDA SR Legacy (2018), representative labels for Kotányi ground black pepper. About 680 kcal per nutrition portion (1/4 of the recipe). Includes the loaf, measured greasing and basting butter, and all walnut brown sauce. Uses fresh soft breadcrumbs, not dry breadcrumbs. Actual ingredients and preparation affect the estimate.
Recipe notes
When adjusting quantities
Keep the loaf's pan and depth in mind. For a larger batch, use separate pans and check each center; baking time and temperature do not multiply with portions. Keep the three measured bastings separate from the butter in the loaf and sauce.
Original recipe notes
These notes describe the original recipe. Quantities mentioned here do not change when you adjust servings.
Dietary choices: use a vegetarian Worcestershire-style sauce whose current label confirms no fish, and plain bread without animal fat. Milk, butter and egg remain, and walnuts are a tree-nut ingredient. Ordinary anchovy-containing Worcestershire or meat stock would change the intended meatless version.
Bread and pan: use fresh soft crumbs, not dried crumbs or panko. The specified pan makes a small, relatively low loaf; a taller or narrower pan changes the center's cooking. Keep the pan size and center checks when adjusting ingredients, or use separate pans.
Leftovers: refrigerate loaf and sauce separately in shallow containers within 2 hours, or within 1 hour above 32°C (90°F), and use within 3 to 4 days. Reheat the loaf to 74°C (165°F). Reheat leftover sauce in a saucepan, stirring, until it reaches a rolling boil, following USDA leftover guidance. Cooked-food guidance doesn't justify tasting the raw egg mixture.
Read the scaling guide. Times, temperatures and equipment need their own consideration. Open the recipe tool to review and correct individual amounts.
Sources and attribution
Adapted from Maria Willett Howard, Lowney's Cook Book, revised edition (Boston: The Walter M. Lowney Co., 1908), Nut Loaf p. 163 and Brown Sauce p. 124.
Maria Willett Howard, Lowney's Cook Book, revised edition, 1908: Nut Loaf p. 163, Brown Sauce p. 124 and level-measure guidance p. 33. The pan, numerical oven setting, serving plan, measured additions and modern handling are specified for this adaptation. The book's separate p. 379 loaf is not the formula used here.
Recipe details
- Recipe tradition
- Vintage
- Cuisine
- American
- Source decade
- 1900s
- Cooking method
- Oven
- Browse category
- Main Dishes