Cinnamon Apple and Oatmeal Bread

For the past several years, my life has been controlled by my lists.  It started when I had a job that required me to do 50 things at once and I couldn't keep track of everything.  Eventually, it carried over into personal aspects of my life and now my lists are in full-swing now that I am in school again.  It was always satisfying to cross something off of my list, but sometimes, it gets really annoying when I don't get something done.  Take this bread, for instance.  Several months ago, I wrote down that I wanted to make it (it comes from an amazing food blog), and it has been nagging me ever since.


So, I'm happy to say that I was able to cross this off of my list last night.  After a loooonnnggg day, I wanted to get into zen mode.  So after my neighbors went to bed and ended whatever circus they were having downstairs, I decided to whip this up.  Granted, it was 10:30 at night, but I put on some classical music and there we go.  Wow, baking at night is awesome!  What a way to calm down and relax.  Plus, it gives you something delicious to wake up to for breakfast.


I made some changes to the recipe to keep the nutritional stats down.  I often do this when I have an inkling that I am going to really enjoy something.  If I don't, I'll end up eating the entire thing.  This way, I can eat larger than normal portions and not feel as terrible about it.  Despite the changes that I made (listed below with the original recipe so you can see what I did), this bread did NOT fall short.  I could not taste the difference (then again, I haven't made the 'real' version) and it is incredible.  I love the taste of baked apples inside the bread and the cinnamon is just enough spice to add a ton of flavor (though, I might try experimenting with some ginger or nutmeg, etc).  I used buckwheat flour, which is distinctively nutty, and it paired so well with the spice and nuts in the bread.  This will definitely be added to my rotating quick-bread list.


P.S. I could not get a decent picture of this bread.

Cinnamon Apple and Oatmeal Bread
adapted from Closet Cooking
Yield:  One 9x5 loaf
Ingredients

• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c maple syrup
• Or substitute with 1/4 c honey or agave nectar
• (I used a SF maple syrup blend)
• 3/4 c vanilla yogurt
• (I used 1 carton of Dannon's light and fit toasted coconut yogurt; that's what I had)
• 1/4 c apple sauce
• (I used 1 carton (about 1/2 c) of unsweetened applesauce and omitted the oil)
• 1/4 c oil
• 1 egg
• 3/4 c rolled oats
• 1 c WW flour
• 3/4 c AP flour
• (I used buckwheat flour)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 c apples (peeled, cored and cut into bite sized pieces)
• (I used 2 medium sized pink lady apples)
• 1/2 c raisins
• (I left out of my bread)
• 1/2 c pecan (chopped)
• (I used chopped walnuts)
• 1 handful rolled oats

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. Mix the brown sugar, syrup, yogurt, apple sauce, oil, egg and rolled oats in a bowl.  Let sit for 10 minutes.
3. Mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.  Mix in apples, raisins and nuts until just mixed.
5. Spoon the mixture into the greased loaf pan.
6. Sprinkle oats on top.
7. Bake in preheated oven at 375F until a toothpick pushing into the center comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes.