Since the start of the new year, I’ve fallen into a habit of making a slightly sweet loaf of quick bread at the start of the week. At first, the goal was simply to have something to help us wean ourselves off all the holiday treats without going cold turkey. But a few weeks in, I’m finding that having a relatively virtuous homemade treat in the kitchen is actually helping us eat better.
I realize it sounds a little nutty, but knowing that there’s a loaf of applesauce bread or a simple yogurt cake at home has kept me from a number of impulse treat purchases. I know that anything I bake at home is going to contain better ingredients and be lower in sugar than anything I can buy, and that gives me the power to hold out.
This week, I made a loaf based on this recipe from Martha Rose Shulman (she is one of my favorite food writers). It’s a quick one and needs just two mixing bowls and a few utensils to pull together. I used coconut sugar instead of the turbinado that she recommends and it works beautifully. I like a slice in the late afternoon with some tea, or toasted and buttered in the evening. My variation of the recipe is below.
Applesauce Loaf
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups 170 g white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup 70 g unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan.
- Whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
- In another bowl, beat together the eggs, applesauce, sugar, oil, yogurt, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until combined.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a tester comes out without any batter sticking to it.
Well now, that sure sounds quick, easy, and delicious! I think I’ll give it a try! Thank you Marisa! And happy new year to you!
I am thinking it would be lovely with pears as well
Sounds delicious. Will regular granulated sugar work in a pinch?
Shulman’s original recipe calls for turbo ado or light brown sugar. I always have that in my pantry.
Darn that auto-correc! Shulman’s original recipe calls for TURBINADO or light brown sugar….
Looks marvelous, Marisa! I also love this recipe: http://orangette.net/2015/11/november-6/ the glaze, I tell you, so delicious!
I like your idea of bridge snack, halfway between good and evil! I’ve been trying this with “truffles” lately, made of dates and a few ad- ins, but sometimes you just want something cakey! This sounds perfect!
A warm slice of homemade quick bread (whether or not you’ve reduced the sugar) is far more satisfying than handfuls of crappy crap from the store. My bloodwork rats me out when I’ve been heavy on processed goodies (darned oreos!) vs homemade treats. So I like your strategy. Mine — when I want cookies, I make them. I keep a dozen for the hubs and I and take the rest to neighbors or the office. No guilt trip, no little voice inside. If I want them, that’s fine, but I need to make them myself.
Perfect timing. I was just assessing the canning closet and see I have jars and jars of applesauce and apple butter to use up. Oat and jam bars are on the list too. Quick and tasty.