Sweet Potato, Date and Hazelnut Loaf

Naturally Gluten Free, Deeply nourishing and grounding

It feels like an age since I’ve been here.

Christmas has passed, the new year has quietly arrived, and somewhere in between a new season has begun to settle in.

There have been excuses — plenty of them — but when it comes right down to it, it has been all me. A lack of focus, a lack of energy. Too many things pulling in too many directions. Family chapters closing and new ones opening. Shifts in rhythm that take time to land in the body.

But now I’m here. Present. With a gentle sense of a plan.

This recipe was shot well before Christmas, patiently waiting for words to catch up with it. Waiting for the moment when I felt ready to sit, write, and return.

And this loaf feels right for that return.

Why You’ll Love This Loaf

Naturally gluten free and deeply nourishing
Rustic, homey and perfect for seasonal transitions
Sweetened with unrefined rapadura (jaggery) sugar
Full of texture from dates, hazelnuts and coconut
Beautiful toasted and generous with butter
Freezer friendly and ideal for slow mornings

It’s the kind of loaf that feels grounding — steady, warm and uncomplicated.

This is a loaf made for the turning of seasons. A simple, beautiful bread with a base of sweet potato, enriched with dates and hazelnuts, carrying a quiet rustic charm.

Rapadura sugar — also known as jaggery — is used here as the sweetener. It’s an unrefined sugar that retains much of its original mineral content. Traditionally made by boiling and reducing sugar cane juice (much like maple syrup), it solidifies and is ground into granules. The flavour is deep, warm and caramelised — exactly what this loaf calls for.

I buy mine from my local Indian grocer, but these days it’s also easy to find in health food stores and online.

This loaf is not flashy. It’s steady and nourishing. Perfect toasted until crisp at the edges, still warm in the middle, slathered with butter and eaten slowly with a hot cup of tea. Breakfast, brunch, or any moment in between that calls for a pause.

Recipe: Sweet Potato, Date and Hazelnut Loaf

Serves 10 | Prep time 10 minutes | Cook time 1–1½ hours

Ingredients

1 cup sweet potato mash (whole roasted, chilled, then mashed)
½ cup linseed meal or LSA
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup almond flour
½ cup desiccated coconut
½ cup rapadura sugar, plus extra for topping
2 tsp (heaped) baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ cup chopped dates
¼ cup chopped hazelnuts, plus extra for topping
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 eggs
½ cup oil (I used a mix of macadamia, coconut and olive oils)
¾ cup coconut quench or coconut milk
Coconut flakes, for topping

Method

Preheat oven to 140°C (fan forced) and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
In a large bowl combine linseed meal, buckwheat flour, almond flour, coconut, rapadura sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarb soda. Stir to combine.
Add chopped dates and hazelnuts and stir through evenly.
In a separate bowl whisk eggs, oil and coconut milk until fully emulsified.
Add wet ingredients and sweet potato mash to the dry mixture and stir until just combined.
Spoon mixture into the lined loaf tin. Sprinkle with extra rapadura sugar, hazelnuts and coconut flakes if using.
Bake on the middle rack for 1–1½ hours, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the tin before slicing.

Tips & Variations

Swap hazelnuts for walnuts or pecans
Add ginger or nutmeg for extra warmth
Use pumpkin or butternut squash in place of sweet potato
Replace dates with figs or raisins
For a less sweet loaf, reduce sugar slightly

Serving & Storage

Serve toasted with butter or nut butter
Keeps wrapped in an airtight container for up to 1 week
Slice, wrap and freeze for up to 3 months
Toast straight from frozen for an easy breakfast

FAQ

Q. Can I make this loaf dairy-free?

Yes — it’s naturally dairy-free as written.

Q. What does rapadura sugar taste like?

Deep, caramel-like and slightly malty — less sharp than white sugar.

Q. Can I use regular flour instead?

Yes, substitute with plain flour if gluten-free is not required.

Q. Why bake at a low temperature?

The lower heat allows the dense loaf to cook evenly without drying out.

This loaf feels like a quiet return. Something steady, nourishing and uncomplicated. A reminder that not everything needs rushing, and that some things — seasons, words, rhythms — arrive when they’re ready.

Sweet potato, date and hazelnut loaf. Warm, grounding and patient. Much like the season it belongs to.