Apple Cinnamon Bread

Fall is my favorite season. It always has been, and probably always will be. Growing up, this was because my birthday is in the Fall (October 15 to be exact). In high school, this also meant volleyball season and Friday night football games. I loved warm bonfires on a chilly night, having an excuse to drink warm drinks, and LOVED the Fall colors. Now, much of this is still the same, I love the colors, love drinking warm drinks, and shockingly, by birthday is still in the Fall. Soccer games have replaced football games (thanks Josh), and I spend a good majority of my time salivating over Fall recipes. If it has pumpkin, apple, or sweet potato in it, you better believe that recipe is getting saved to be made later. As I've mentioned previously though, I'm not a huge fan of sharing a kitchen with 300 girls (because yes, I do still live in a dorm). Therefore, these recipes pile up until I'm home for Thanksgiving, then voila! our empty kitchen turns into my test space for a week.

All that to say, this was one of the Fall themed items I made during Thanksgiving break this year. This apple bread is amazing. It's moist and soft, and I can easily eat half the loaf by myself. The type of apple used plays a key part the success of this bread. Originally, I used Braeburn apples because it was all I had on hand, but this didn't give the bread the distinct apple taste I was going for. The next time I used a sweeter Cortland apple, which gave the bread the perfect sweet, apple taste I had hoped for. At first, I had some trouble with baking the bread all the way through. The first batch crumbled at the touch of a knife because it was so moist and undone, but a couple tries later, I nailed it. The bread definitely does not rise like banana bread (it is made of nuts and oats after all), which means it is more dense than a flour-made loaf of bread.

Hope you enjoy this Fall recipe as much as I do!


Adapted from Nutrition Stripped
Makes 1 large loaf or 2 small loaves

Ingredients:

5 small (about 520g) apples
2 whole eggs + 2 egg whites
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup oat flour
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line 9 x 5 in.  or two 6 x 3 in. bread pan with parchment paper
2. In a high speed blender, combine apples, eggs, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla and blend until smooth.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine flours with baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Stir to combine. Pour wet ingredients from the blender into the dry mixing bowl. Stir until combined into a dough. Dough should hold its shape and stick to the sides of the bowl when stirred
4. Pour the batter in prepared pan and spread evenly
5. Bake for 50-55 minutes for a large loaf or 34-45 minutes for small loaves. If bread becomes too brown while baking, cover pan with tin foil. Test bread doneness by inserting a knife or toothpick; if it comes out clean, it's done.
6. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting and slicing
7. Enjoy toasted and serve with apple butter, pumpkin butter, honey, or simply plain!
8. Store leftover bread in fridge for 4-5 days or freeze individual slices for later use. Wrap bread in air-tight cling wrap for best results then toast to reheat.

Christmas Day Monkey Bread

It's tradition at our house to eat Monkey Bread on Christmas morning. Every year we try a new recipe, some years it works... but most years it fails. Last year, I took it into my own hands, and it was a raging success. This year I remade it, changing it a little and doubling it to better feed our growing family (weddings and exchange students adding a few). 

I combined a couple of recipes I found plus a little improvisation of my own, and this is what I got. I healthified it a little (for my own conscience) by replacing some all purpose flour with whole wheat flour and almond flour, using coconut oil instead of butter (making it dairy free), swapping some oil with applesauce, and sticking with honey instead of refined sugar (for my diabetic father).

This monkey bread is the perfect amount of goo and sweet. It tears apart easily and doesn't stick to the pan (hallelujah). The applesauce gives it a little bit of apple flavor while also decreasing the oil and fat content significantly. It takes a little bit of prep time since it needs to rise once and each piece has to be rolled and dipped. In the end though, it's worth every minute.

Feeds 6-8 people 

Dough Ingredients:

1 cup lukewarm water + 1-2 Tbsp
4 tsp. instant yeast 

2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
2 large eggs
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. honey
1 cup all-purpose flour 
1 cup almond flour
2 cups whole wheat flour + more for kneading

Topping Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut sugar
4 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup honey

Directions:

1. Place 1 cup water, yeast, oil, eggs, salt, and honey in a medium bowl and stir well with whisk.
2. Add almond flour and all-purpose flour, stirring to blend.
3. Add 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1-2 tablespoons of water, stirring to make cohesive dough. Let the dough sit for 5 minutes; this gives the flour a chance to absorb the liquid, making it easier to knead.
4. Knead the dough, adding extra flour to keep dough from sticking, until it's soft and smooth.
5. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, spray the top of dough, then cover with cling wrap and place in warm place. Let the dough rise for 25 to 40 minutes, till it's doubled in size.
6. Mix topping while dough is rising. Combine cinnamon and coconut sugar in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk together applesauce, melted coconut oil, and honey. 
7. Gently deflate the dough, and place it on a clean, lightly greased work surface. Roll it into pieces about 1 1/2 inches in diameter; you'll make 45 to 50 pieces.
8. Lightly grease a Bundt pan. Dip each piece in honey-oil mixture, and then roll it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat.
9. Place the pieces in the prepared pan. Pour remaining liquid over top of dough. (It will be soupy; use it all)
10. Cover the pan, and let the bread rise for 30 to 60 minutes, till it's visibly puffy. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
11. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350°F. You may need to cover with foil after 25. Invert pan on plate immediately and serve warm.

** If making ahead and baking the next day, cover pan with cling wrap and place in fridge after step 10. Dough will rise a little overnight. The next day, preheat oven and let dough sit for 20 minutes on counter before baking.

Gingerbread + A Secret Ingredient

• Makes 2 mini loaves, 780 cal

With the Christmas season comes baked goods on top of baked goods. So what am I spending my break doing? Baking of course! It's the perfect excuse to spend even more of my time in the kitchen. I'm a sucker for gingerbread, which may be weird, since I have heard from multiple people lately how much they dislike gingerbread. The chocolate and sugar cookies can be made any time of year, but gingerbread... that's just for Christmas. I like that both the bread and the cookies have that bold molasses flavor. I like that they aren't too sweet too, since that is an easy thing to get sick of this time of year.

This bread does just that, it's a gingerbread with some bold molasses flavor and just the right amount of sweetness (it is a bread after all, not a cookie). There is also a secret ingredient: coffee. The coffee gives it an unexpected twist that compliments the spices oh so well. It also keeps the bread nice and moist, so you just keep going back for another slice. 

The first time I made this bread I didn't have any applesauce. (What house doesn't have applesauce?) So, in dealing with this issue, I replaced the applesauce with banana puree because I read somewhere that fruit purees were essentially interchangeable. Wrong answer. Applesauce has almost no flavor, where as banana has a very distinct flavor in baked goods. The end product was this awkward conglomeration of ginger, molasses, coffee, and banana. In addition, I felt like the coffee flavor overpowered the two main features of the bread: molasses and ginger. I wasn't about to give up on this one though, I really wanted this recipe to work! Take two: I used applesauce as directed, used medium roast coffee instead of dark, and added an extra dollop* of molasses, a dash* of ginger, and a pinch* of cinnamon. Perfect. The final product turned out just as I had hoped!

• Since I baked this bread in mini loaves, the baking time was less than half that of a large loaf. This means that from beginning to end it takes less than and hour, which is impressive for a sweet bread. It also means there's no need to cover the top with tinfoil. This bread rises a significant amount too; I only filled each pan a little over halfway. 

Makes 2 mini loaves, 780 calories each

• Adapted from Whole Foods' Spiced Gingerbread

• Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 Tablespoon + a dash* ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon + a pinch* ground cinnamon
• Pinch* ground cloves
• Pinch* ground allspice
• 1 egg
• 2.5 Tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup molasses (plus a dollop* more)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F, grease 2 mini loaf pans, and brew coffee.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice.

3. In a second bowl, whisk coconut oil into coffee (this will melt the coconut oil), then add applesauce, molasses and egg. Pour liquid mixture into flour mixture and stir just until combined. 

4. Pour batter into prepared pans, filling half full, and bake in oven for 27-33 minutes on middle rack. Bread is ready when toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack, removing bread from pans after 10 minutes.

*A dash is equivalent to 1/8 teaspoon. A pinch is equivalent to 1/16 teaspoon. A dollop is a little more than 1 teaspoon.

Nut Bread Round Two

One of my first posts was of Paleo Nut Bread. Since then, Sarah, from My New Roots, also posted a nut bread.  She called it the Life-Changing Loaf of Bread, and since she is my favorite blogger there was basically no excuse not to make it. 

This bread is dense since it is almost all nuts and seeds, but so yummy. It has more flavor than the last one I made and again, it is perfect for toast. The main ingredient Sarah points out in this bread is the psyllium (sill-ee-um) seed husks. They are the binding ingredient since there is no flour or egg in the bread. They are also filled with fiber, which helps to regulate the digestive system.

Recipe makes one loaf of about 16 slices with 150 calories each slice

Ingredients:

1 cup sunflower seeds
½ cup flax seeds (ground)
½ cup hazelnuts
1 ½ cups rolled oats
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
4 Tbsp. psyllium seed husks (3 Tbsp. if using psyllium husk powder)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
2 cups water

Directions:

1. Place fitted parchment paper in a metal loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350°F

2. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, stirring well (Sarah suggests mixing it right in the pan). Whisk maple syrup, melted oil and water together in a measuring cup. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick. Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Let sit out on the counter for at least 2 hours, or up to a day (I let mine sit overnight). To ensure the dough is ready, it should retain its shape even when you pull the side of the parchment paper out of the pan.

3. Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan and remove parchment paper, place it upside down on a cooling rack and bake for another 30-35 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing (difficult, but important).

**Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to five days. If you want to freeze, Sarah suggests slicing it before hand.

Paleo Nut Bread

I am not home from college very often, but when I am home you will undoubtedly find me cooking something new with one of my best friends, Lauren. Lauren and I have had many kitchen adventures together and always end up making the tastiest things- not without learning a lesson or two first.

This Christmas break we decided to make Paleo Nut Bread, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Cauliflower Crust Pizza. I originally found this nut bread recipe on A Tasty Love Story blog, and it caught my eye.

You may be wondering, "What in the world does Paleo mean?".... because I know that's what I was thinking! So, like any young scholar, I looked it up! Paleo is short for Paleolithic, and it is a type of diet. Other names for this diet are "the caveman diet" and "the hunter-gatherer diet." To keep it simple, if you can't pick it or kill it, then you can't eat it. The diet consists mainly of meats, fish, nuts, fruits, roots, regional veggies and leafy greens, and seeds. It excludes grains, dairy products, legumes, potatoes, and refined sugar. Just to clarify though, just because I'm making paleo bread, does not mean I follow this diet. I just thought it looked yummy, and it was!

This bread is packed with protein, calcium, fiber, healthy fats, and good cholesterol. Beware though, it's pretty high in calories (one loaf is 4,000), so don't go eating five slices in one sitting. One slice will fill you up for quite some time because of all the nutrients inside! 

Enough with the talking, here it is!

Ingredients:

2 cups almonds
1 cup walnuts
1 1/2 cup seeds: *flaxseeds, *sesame seeds, chia seeds (use two)
3 eggs
4 egg whites

1/3 cup coconut oil
A pinch of salt

1 Tbsp honey

Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 325 °F
 and line bread pan with parchment paper
2. Grind 1.5 cup almonds and 1 cup walnuts to flour-like texture.
3. Chop the last part of almonds a little less refined.
4. Grind seeds to flour like texture. If using sesame seeds, be sure to not grind too much as it will turn into tahini paste very quickly.
5. In a bowl combine all of the ingredients and stir well together. Pour batter into prepared pan
6. Bake in oven for 50-60 min. Let it cool before removing from the pan.


**The bread keeps moist and delicious up to a week in the fridge. You can easily freeze it as well.