This is a great, unusual bread that isn't overwhelmingly sweet. In fact, the bread tastes more of grains and nuts, and it's perfect with a bit of butter or cheese for a healthy snack or breakfast. The bread does not contain refined sugar but does contain sugar in the form of unsweetened applesauce and date paste, both of which increase the nutrition content of the bread. Whole wheat flour and oats add beneficial fiber, and walnuts contribute protein and fiber as well as great taste to the bread. The dough is easy to mix up, and you can let it sit in the refrigerator overnight if you run out of time to bake it. Just let the dough warm up a little and pop it in the oven when you're ready. Enjoy!
Sourdough Cranberry Bread -- Makes 2 Loaves
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1/4 cup of canola oil
1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of date puree/paste (it's easy--see below)
1/2 cup of finely chopped cranberries (a food processor is the easiest way to chop them)
3/4 cup of white whole-wheat flour (regular whole wheat will work)
1/2 cup of quick oats
In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients listed above well and let them sit for at least an hour. Three or four hours is fine, if you're busy. When you're ready, add to the batter:
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, plus extra to sprinkle
1 1/2 cups of white whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons of salt
Mix in the 1/2 cup of walnuts, flour, and salt. Stir the mixture for a few minutes to make sure everything is incorporated/well mixed. The dough/batter will be stiff, but you don't have to knead it. Spritz two 8" x 4" pans with nonstick cooking spray or line the pans with foil and spritz the foil with non-stick spray for easy removal of the loaves later. Divide the dough between the pans. If you'd like, sprinkle some extra chopped walnuts on top of the dough. Spritz the top of the dough with non-stick cooking spray and loosely cover the tops of the pans with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it just comes to the top of the pan. You can also refrigerate the dough overnight and let it rise in the refrigerator. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the loaves for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted in the center of a loaf reads 190-200 degrees. Let the loaves cool in their pans for about 10 minutes before removing the loaves to cool completely. The loaves will slice best once they've cooled.
How to Make Date Puree/Paste: Just cover 1/2 cup of pitted dates with boiling water (just enough water to cover the dates is fine). Let the dates/water sit for 15 minutes or until the mixture is warm/the dates have softened and absorbed most of the water. Mash the dates/water mixture well with a fork, or you can puree the mixture in a small food processor. That's it. You can use the puree in this recipe and others.
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