Tag Archives: whole wheat flour

Granola-Carrot Bread

I’ve never heard a quick bread being described as “rustic,” but I think that’s the perfect description for this Granola-Carrot Bread. It’s a real down-to earth quick bread, made with whole wheat flour, grated carrots, granola, light olive oil, and chopped nuts. And it looks kind of rustic, with the texture of the nuts, carrots and granola showing inside and out. It’s a very lightly sweet quick bread, getting it’s sweetness from the brown sugar and bits of granola (I used 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar in my loaf; for a sweeter loaf, increase the brown sugar to 3/4 cup). Adding raisins is optional, but they would add a little to the sweetness, too.

I first saw this recipe in an old cookbook and, since I’m a big granola fan, thought it was definitely worth trying. I made a few small changes and liked the way it turned out. When I first tasted it, I thought it might not be sweet enough, but by the second slice, I decided I liked the lightly sweet taste of it. I used some of my homemade granola in this recipe, my Apricot-Honey Granola, but you can use any kind of granola, homemade or store-bought. This quick bread is great for breakfast or for a healthy afternoon snack!

GRANOLA-CARROT BREAD by NancyC, adapted from Breads, Quick Breads, and Coffee Cakes

Makes one 9×5″ loaf

1/2 to 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (1/2 cup will give you a lightly sweet loaf)

1 1/2 cups of your favorite granola (homemade or store-bought)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups grated carrots

1/2 cup light olive oil or non-GMO canola oil

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup milk or buttermilk

3/4 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds

Optional: 2/3 cup dark or golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour a 9×5″ loaf pan; set aside.

In large bowl, add the brown sugar, granola, flour, and grated carrots, stirring with a large spoon to combine. Add the oil and blend ingredients together. Then add the baking powder, vanilla extract, salt, eggs, and buttermilk, stirring everything until just combined (do not overmix). Fold in the chopped pecans.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake at 350˚F for 42 to 45 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or almost clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

I love that this quick bread has carrots in it, because I never eat as many carrots as I should. So this is a tasty way to add some beta-carotene into my diet! 🙂 It’s always nice when you can bake a treat that is good for you too. Have you been baking any healthy goodies lately?

Sharing at Meal Plan Monday.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

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Whole Wheat Banana Bread @NancyC Usually when I bake things I use unbleached all-purpose flour. But I had purchased some organic whole wheat flour and was wanting to try making something with it. I like baking quick breads and I hadn’t made any banana bread lately, so I decided to try making a loaf of Whole Wheat Banana Bread. I thought it turned out really well! It’s a good, hearty banana bread with lots of chopped nuts and healthy ingredients like honey and light olive oil (although it does have some brown sugar in it). The mashed bananas and plain Greek yogurt make this loaf moist and It doesn’t have a strong wheaty taste, so it should appeal to anyone who likes banana bread.

WHOLE WHEAT BANANA BREAD by NancyC

Makes 1 loaf

1/3 cup light olive oil

1/4 cup honey

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3 1/2 medium)

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Grease and flour a 9×5″ loaf pan; set aside.

In large bowl, blend oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla, then add in eggs, mixing well. Stir in yogurt, then add in the mashed bananas, mixing everything together.

In medium bowl, blend flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix just until ingredients are combined–do not overtax! Fold in chopped nuts.

Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake at 325˚F for 48 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let loaf cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove and cool on completely on wire rack.

I baked this loaf on a chilly morning and it was the perfect snack for later in the day! I want to make more things with this organic whole wheat flour that I have. What do you like making with whole wheat flour?

Sharing at Fiesta Friday. Meal Plan Monday, Weekend Potluck, Inspire Me Monday.

Oatmeal Maple Bread from The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day–and a Giveaway!

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You’ve probably heard about the bestselling book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, first published back in 2007. Because of its popularity, authors Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois have completely revised and updated their original book that revolutionized bread-making. Their new book, The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day was just released on October 22. The publisher, Thomas Dunne Books, sent me a review copy, and I’m happy to say they are providing a copy for me to give away! They will send the giveaway copy directly to the winner, so see the end of the post for details on how to win this book! First, I’ll tell you more about the book and the recipe I made from it.

The New Artisan Bread In Five Minutes a Day is completely revised and updated with forty new full-color images, one hundred black-and-white how-to photos, an expanded “Tips and Techniques” section, a gluten-free chapter, and more than 30 new recipes for homemade breads and sweets, including…

Gluten-free Cheesy Breadsticks, Pizza, Baguette and Sweeet Brioche
Beer-Cheese and Crock-Pot Bread
Pretzel Buns
Apple-Stuffed French Toast
Panini

I decided to try the recipe for Oatmeal Maple Bread–that just sounded so good and healthy! I definitely am a novice bread maker, so I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I’m happy to say it turned out wonderfully! The bread has a great texture and rises nicely, and pure maple syrup gives it a delicious, slightly sweet taste. This recipe makes 2 loaves. I brought some of the bread in to work for my coworkers to sample and everyone loved it! I hope you get a chance to try the recipe out!

OATMEAL MAPLE BREAD from The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Makes two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2″ loaves

A note from the book: This high-fiber loaf is lightly sweetened with maple syrup and tastes great cut into thick slices and then slathered with butter (and marmalade)…. It also makes a great sandwich with smoked turkey and cheese.

2 3/4 cups (625 grams) lukewarm water

1 Tablespoon (10 grams) Granulated yeast

1 to 1 1/2 Tablespoons (17 to 25 grams) Kosher salt

3/4 cup, plus 1 Tablespoon (170 grams) Pure Maple Syrup (the 1 Tablespoon is for brushing on top of the loaf right before baking)

1/4 cup (55 grams) oil, plus more for greasing the loaf pans (I used olive oil)

3/4 cup (55 grams) Wheat bran

1 1/2 cups (140 grams) Old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup (130 grams) Whole wheat flour or White Whole wheat flour (I used White whole wheat)

4 cups (570 grams) All-purpose flour (I used unbleached all-purpose flour)

Mixing and storing the dough: Mix the yeast and salt with the water, the 3/4 cup maple syrup, and the oil in a 6-quart bowl or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

Mix in the remaining dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). If you’re not using a machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.

Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate the container of dough and use over the next 7 days.

On baking day, grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch nonstick loaf pans. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and divide dough in half. Dust each dough half with more flour and quickly shape each of them, one at a time, into a ball by stretching the surface of each piece of dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

Elongate each ball of dough to form an oval loaf and place into the prepared pans. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 90 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. A baking stone is not required, and omitting it shortens the preheat.

Using a pastry brush, brush the top crusts with the remaining 1 Tablespoon maple syrup (use 1/2 Tablespoon on the top of each loaf).

Place the loaves on a rack near the center of the oven. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until browned and firm (my baking time was 50 minutes). Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.

Remove from the pans and allow to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.

I let my loaves cool before slicing one of them and put the other in the freezer for later. But you may not be able to resist eating this bread warm right out of the oven! 🙂

GIVEAWY IS NOW CLOSED. The winning comment was #5, Barbara. Congratulations!

Now for the Giveaway…if you’d like to enter to win a copy of The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, leave a comment on this blog post between now and Saturday, November 9, at midnight (CST)–the random drawing will be made from the comments on this post only! The winner will be chosen randomly via Random.org and announced on Sunday, November 10. Winner will be notified via email (if winner does not respond in 3 days, I’ll do another drawing). Giveaway limited to readers in the Continental U.S. and Canada.

First entry: Leave a comment on this post–it would be great to hear what your favorite kind of bread is or if you have ever made homemade bread!

Bonus entry: If you are a new or existing follower or subscriber, you can leave one extra comment telling me the way (or ways) you are following.

This is a great book for bread lovers, so if you’re one, be sure to enter the giveaway! 🙂

A Savory Focaccia from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day

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There’s a brand-new book that has just come out by the bestselling authors of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Have you seen it?

It’s called Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day, and I had the opportunity to review and try a recipe from it! Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois have created 100 new easy-to-make recipes for not only pizzas and flatbreads, but also soups, salads, sauces, and spreads, which make great meals with all those pizzas and flatbreads! And for a special finishing touch to your meal, you’ll find some recipes for dessert pizzas and hand pies. The Banana Cream Hand Pie sounds really good and I’m intrigued by the recipe for Chocolate Dough, being the chocolate-lover that I am. I will definitely need to try that out! 🙂

When I received the book in the mail, I immediately started flipping through it to look at the full-color photos of many of the recipes. I decided to try a focaccia recipe because I really love focaccia and have never made it. It was kind of a challenge for me. Not being an experienced bread-maker, I was wondering if I could really make a delicious focaccia flatbread. Well I’m happy to tell you, “Yes!” I thought the recipe was easy to make and tasted as good or better than any I have ever bought. And it was fun making it!

I definitely will be trying out the pizza recipes, too, especially after watching a pizza-making video on Zoe’s site, Zoe Bakes, and seeing this photo of incredibly tasty-looking pizzas taken by her friends.

Photo by Todd Porter and Diane Cu of White on Rice Couple

As you can see, there are plenty of delicious pizza options to choose from! 🙂

And so I chose to make focaccia, specifically the Leek, Herbes de Provence, and Garlic Focaccia. It was delicious! You can choose from a variety of dough recipes in the book, and I chose the 100% Whole Wheat Dough, making it with white whole wheat flour. That was another first for me, using white whole wheat flour (which has a less “wheaty” taste than regular whole wheat). This is such a good recipe…I hope you get a chance to try it soon!

LEEK, HERBES DE PROVENCE, AND GARLIC FOCACCIA from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day

100% Whole Wheat Dough:

Makes enough dough for at least eight flatbreads. The recipe is easily doubled or halved. This dough can be used for pizzas, too!

3 1/2 cups lukewarm water

1 Tablespoon granulated yeast

1 to 1 1/2 Tablespoons Kosher salt

2 Tablespoons sugar, honey, malt powder, or agave syrup (I used honey)

1/8 cup olive oil

7 cups white whole wheat flour (or traditional whole wheat flour)

Mixing and Storing the Dough…

Mix the yeast, salt, sweetener, and olive oil with the water in a 5-quart bowl or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

Mix in the remaining dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup capacity food processor with dough attachment, or a heavy-duty stand mixer with paddle. If you’re not using a machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.

Cover (not airtight), and allow it to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use for flatbread (or pizza) over the next 7 days. Or store the dough for up to 3 weeks in the freezer in 1/2 pound portions. When using frozen dough, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before use.

The Focaccia Recipe (makes one 10-inch focaccia):

3/4 pound (large orange-size portion) of your homemade dough (refrigerate beforehand for easier handling if desired)

5 Tablespoons olive oil

1 leek (white part only), halved lengthwise, well rinsed, and thinly sliced crosswise

2 Tablespoons herbes de Provence

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon capers

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup white wine (I used white cooking wine)

Prepare the leeks: In a skilled over medium low heat, add 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil, leeks, herbs, garlic, capers, salt, pepper, and white wine. Cook slowly until the leeks are soft, but not brown. Allow to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rub 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil in the bottom of a pie tin and set aside (I just had a glass pie plate, so I used that and it worked fine). Dust the surface of the dough with flour and cut off a 3/4-pound (large orange-size) piece. Dust with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go (the pizza-making video on Zoe’s site that I mentioned earlier illustrates this technique).

Stretch the focaccia dough: Flatten the dough with your hands and/or a rolling pin on a work surface to produce a 1/2-inch-thick round. Dust with flour to keep the dough from adhering to the surface. Use a dough scraper to unstick the dough as needed, and transfer to the prepared pie plate. Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and dimple the surface so the oil won’t run off the top.

Add the toppings: Spread the leek mixture over the dough and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Just before baking, press your fingers into the dough to dimple it throughout; this prevents the toppings from popping off when baking.

Here’s what my focaccia looked like before I put it in the oven:

Place the pie plate in the oven on the middle rack: Check for doneness in 15 minutes, then turn the focaccia around in the oven if one side is browning faster than the other. It may take up to 5 minutes more in the oven (my total baking time was about 18 minutes).

Remove the focaccia from the pan and allow to cool slightly, preferably on a wire cooling rack. Cut into wedges and serve.

Recipe reprinted with permission from the publisher.

Here’s the fresh-baked focaccia…

I tasted it while it was still a little warm. Here’s a picture of the first slice…

All the topping ingredients are so good together. The leek, the herbs, and the garlic cooked in the olive oil and white wine make a wonderful savory topping for this bread!

Have you made focaccia? What do you like to put on yours?

Linked to Foodie Friday.