Bread

rhubarb apple bread

June 3, 2011

Baking this quick bread filled my house with the gorgeous scent of…Autumn. I equate cinnamon smells with Autumn naturally since they pop out of every recipe at that time of year. This recipe is certainly Spring all over though with all that rhubarb and so the cinnamon is just a lovely surprise; a gift if you will. Let me give to you the gift of a house that smells like Autumn, while the sun shines and it’s 80 degrees outside. You’re welcome.

My second gift today (actually, technically the gift is from Maria) is to your thighs since there isn’t even an ounce of butter in this recipe. Not a smidge, no siree. Instead, there is apple sauce and canola oil. We’re talking SEMI HEALTHY here people!! Can you hear me shouting? Can your thighs? Mine can after all the butter I normally throw around on this blog.

Rhubarb is still hanging on in Minnesota, bringing those bright rainbow pinks and yellows to the grocery store shelves. If you have some on hand be sure to save a couple of stalks for this recipe. It’s tart from the rhubarb and apple, and sweet from that crunchy cinnamon-sugar topping: a perfect flavour combination. Give yourself a gift and bake a loaf this weekend.

Rhubarb Apple Bread
from Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon all spice
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup chopped rhubarb
  • 1 cup chopped apples, skin removed (I used Granny Smith)

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray an 8 by 4 loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and all spice. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl beat the eggs for about 30 seconds. Add in canola oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix until combined. Add sugars and beat until smooth.

4. Slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Gently fold in rhubarb and apple chunks. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

5. In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle evenly over the batter. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until loaf is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

6. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes. Loosen sides and remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

the best bread in minneapolis

February 25, 2011

There are some things I love to eat more than anything else; foods and dishes that get me pausing, closing my eyes, savouring. Good bread is one of them.

Nothing is finer to me than a great loaf of bread, sliced up and eaten with butter and cheese, or good olive oil. Throw in a bottle of wine and some of my favourite people and the picture is pretty much perfect.

When I first moved to the States, I have to say that I had a hard time with bread. I wish I knew what the elemental difference is but bread here tastes sweet and that’s something I had never experienced before and did not particularly enjoy. I got used to it, because palates and taste buds adapt but I still longed for the fully savoury, truly wheaty taste of European bread.

Luckily, having lived here and explored for a few years, I’ve found bread that I like. I’ve also happened upon some bread that I love so much it’s worth sharing with you here and that bread is from Rustica.

Rustica bakery makes some dang good bread. Their levain loaf is the best dunked in hot soups; their baguettes have just the right texture (crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside) that so many others lack; their multigrain tastes so perfect with rich butter and cheese. I could go on…

I’ve been buying those loaves on occasion from my my local co-op for a while but I’ve never actually been to the bakery itself until now. So, for the love of bread (and blogging), I popped over there this week during lunch to take some photos and buy some of their beautiful goods.

For a mid-week afternoon, Rustica was pretty bumping but their lovely staff were more than happy for me to take some pictures and nose around.

Best discoveries about Rustica?

Their chocolate croissants. They have the exact buttery-ness that you would hope for, are completely messy and flaky, and have the perfect little rectangles of chocolate wedged throughout them. All in the name of blogging…

My second favourite discovery was that they serve Dogwood coffee.

Dogwood happens to be some of my favourite coffee in the city. Hallelujah to good partnerships.

Are you passionate about bread? I’d love to hear about your favourite loaf or bakery – and hope I you’ll try some of Rustica’s bread/baked goods if you can!

For more on Rustica, check out the Perennial Plate and Daniel Klein’s video from Episode 43.

Rustica Bakery
3220 West Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55416
612.822.1119

whole wheat molasses bread

January 22, 2011

This here is breakfast bread. I advise eating it with a thick smear of cream cheese or some salty butter and a nice cup of tea on the side.

Since it’s the weekend, I bet you have a couple of hours to spend so why not make this savoury/sweet loaf to kick start your weekend.

It’s super pumpernickel-y (Dan laughed when I said that out loud but it’s true and I don’t care if pumpernickel-y isn’t a word. Add it to your vocabulary. You’ll need it to describe this bread) and kind of an unexpected flavour explosion.

It’s an interesting quick bread since there’s both whole wheat flour and cornmeal in there, making it all deep and earthy tasting. Your wet ingredients are just buttermilk and molasses. Lots of thick, gooey molasses. There’s no other sugar in it so it turns out somewhere in between savoury and sweet. It’s not going to taste how you expect so wrap your head around that fact now.

Cut yourself a slice, whack on the cream cheese, pour a cup of milky sweet tea and enjoy. Seriously, it’s a meal in and of itself. That’s my kind of bread.

Whole Wheat Molasses Bread

from Joy the Baker

makes one 8×4 or 9×5-inch loaf

Ingredients

  • 1 2/3 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt
  • 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup molasses

Directions

  1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease and flour an 8×4 or 9×5-inch loaf pan.  Non-stick baking spray works well too.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt and baking soda.
  3. In a small bowl whisk together buttermilk or yogurt and molasses.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold to combine.  The batter will be slightly thick, but not dry.  Spoon batter into prepared pan and place in the oven.  Bake loaf for 45 minutes to an hour.  Depending on how evenly your oven bakes, you might want to rotate the loaf in the middle of baking.  Be careful though.  Don’t manhandle it too hard or it might deflate.
  5. When a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, remove the loaf from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes in the loaf pan.  Run a butter knife along the sides of the pan and carefully invert onto a wire rack.
  6. Loaf will keep, well wrapped at room temperature for up to 4 days.
  7. Serve with cream cheese or salted butter.

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