Instructions

1. Almond pulp left over from making milk is already wet, and how wet it is decides everything that follows. Squeeze a handful; if water runs out, wring it in a cloth before it meets anything else.
2. Work the ingredients together in the bowl with your hands rather than a spoon. The date paste is stiff and sits in lumps under a spoon, and a lump of date inside a slice is a sweet wet spot that never dries.
3. Shape the mixture into a loaf 1 1/2" thick, square rather than domed. A domed top puts the deepest part furthest from the tray, and it will still be raw when the edges are finished.
4. Set the loaf on a solid sheet, not on mesh. Wet batter falls through mesh, and the loaf needs a flat base to hold its shape while it firms.
5. Dehydrate at 105 °F for 8 hours. Press the top at the halfway mark: it should spring back like a sponge cake rather than take a dent.
6. It is ready when the outside is dry to the touch and the inside still gives, the way a good banana bread does. This is not supposed to go brittle, so resist leaving it on longer just because it feels soft.
7. Cool it fully before slicing, and use a serrated knife with a sawing motion. A warm loaf tears rather than cuts.
8. Wrap the slices and keep them in the fridge, where they hold about five days. There is still real moisture in this loaf, so it is not a pantry item — freeze whatever will not be eaten that week.