Baked

Regular, gluten-full wheat bread, I've missed you. Life has been pretty crazy lately, and I needed to "knead", so I made a good old fashioned loaf of whole wheat bread and added apricots and pistachios. Gluten-free bread can be tasty, but I miss the kneading. ;)

Whole Wheat Bread with Apricots and Pistachios - makes one large loaf

1/4 cup honey or maple syrup (I used honey this time)
1 packet yeast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup pistachios, chopped

In a medium bowl, mix together 1 3/4 cups warm water (about 115f), honey and yeast. Let stand for about 5 minutes, or until mixture becomes foamy. In a separate bowl, stir together whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt, apricots and pistachios. Add yeast mixture, then oil. Stir to combine, then turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Now here comes my favourite part: knead for about 8 minutes, or until dough is elastic and smooth. Whoohoo!

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let stand, in a warm spot, for about 90 minutes or until dough doubles in size.
Punch down dough, and knead a few times, on a lightly floured surface. Shape into a round loaf, and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for another 45 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375f.  Make a couple of slashes, with a sharp knife, on top of dough and bake for about 45 minutes or until bread sounds "hollow" when tapped. Cool on a wire rack. This bread is perfect, toasted, for breakfast, and also makes great sandwiches. Love it.

Have a good day! Back soon.
janis

Baked

Hello to a brand new week. Hope your Monday has been a good one!

Pomegranates are plentiful these days, so I thought I'm make one of my favourite snacks - Pomegranate Apple & Pistachio Bread. The recipe is a pretty big one, so I made one large loaf, and 4 mini loaves. Love a mini bread ;)

3 cups spelt flour (definitely feel free to swap the spelt for all purpose flour!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup apples, finely chopped
1 cup pomegranate arils
3/4 cup chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 350f/180c.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, sugar, and brown sugar. Set aside. Melt butter, then mix in a small bowl, with the applesauce. Beat eggs and milk together, add to the applesauce/butter mixture and mix together then add to the dry ingredients. Add the chopped apples, pomegranate arils and pistachios then stir together until just blended. Don't over mix the batter, or your bread could end up on the tough side ;)

Pour mixture into two 8 inch by 4 inch loaf tins, that have been lightly greased (I made one large loaf, and 4 mini loaves instead). Bake for about 45-50 minutes (large loaf pan) and about 25 minutes for the mini loaves, or until a skewer inserted in centre, comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes before removing from tins. Enjoy!

Have a great day!
Back soon,
Janis