Quick Beer-Wheat Bread

If you've never made beer bread, I would encourage you to give this recipe a try sometime soon. The beer flavor is not strong as long as you do not use a dark beer, so let your personal taste be your guide. I use Fat Tire or Dos Equis, and we love the flavor that each one of these beers imparts to the bread. Since this is a quick bread, it goes together very fast and makes a good accompaniment to soup or salad.
Blessings...

Recipe:

3 cups packaged biscuit mix, such as Bisquick
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsps. sugar
2 eggs
1 12-oz bottle of beer (1 1/2 cups)

1. Combine biscuit mix, flour and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Add eggs and beer; beat with electric mixer for about 1 minute or until well blended.
3. Turn into a greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan, spreading evenly.
4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 - 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs attached.
5. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 1 loaf, serves 12 to 14 slices
170 calories per slice for 12 slices
1.7 gms. fiber
145 calories per slice for 14 slices
1.4 gms. fiber

Tip: You might want to store the bread overnight to blend the flavors a bit. I thought it got better with age. The bread also slices best when cool. To warm the bread, wrap it in foil and warm in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

This recipe was taken from a "Better Homes and Gardens" Magazine years ago.

Brown Soda Bread

This wonderful variation of Irish Soda Bread comes from "Cook's Country" online, Feb./Mar. 2013. The traditional soda bread recipe, that I have been making for years, is made with white flour and is delicious, but the addition of whole- wheat flour and wheat germ takes the flavor to a whole new level. We loved it with butter and honey alongside our Split Pea Soup, recipe posted on 9/2/2014, this week for dinner. Soda bread is also wonderful with potato soup, so you might try Sausage Potato Soup with Sage, recipe posted on 1/3/2014, or Potato Soup, Florentine Style, recipe posted on 2/6/2013. However you serve it, it is a wonderful bread. Blessings...

Recipe:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
3 tbsp. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1-3/4 cups buttermilk (I use low-fat)
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted (I used salted butter)

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Combine buttermilk and 2 tbsp. melted butter in 2-cup liquid measuring cup.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until dough just comes together. Turn out dough onto lightly floured counter and knead until cohesive mass forms, about 8 turns.
5. Pat dough into 7-inch round and transfer to prepared sheet. Using sharp serrated knife, make 1/4-inch-deep cross about 5-inches long on top of loaf.
6. Bake until skewer inserted in center comes out clean and loaf registers 195 degrees, 45 to 50 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
7. Remove bread from oven. Brush with remaining 1 tbsp. melted butter. Transfer loaf to wire rack and let cool for at least 1 hour.

Yield: 16 slices (see note)
138 calories each
2 gms. fiber
Note: I cut the loaf into quarters, then cut each quarter into 4 slices. The bread cuts very nicely, this way, into serving-size pieces.
Note: I did not test the internal temperature of the loaf and it turned out beautifully after 45 minutes of baking. I covered the loaf with foil when I turned it at 25 minutes to prohibit over-browning.

Date Nut Bread

This bread is my husband's absolute favorite of all the different quick breads that I make. He would have me make this recipe once a month, if he could. The bread is full of chopped dates and pecans so it is a bit high in calories, but worth every single one of them. The recipe makes two loafs, one for now and one for the freezer for later. This is another recipe from my old McCall's Cook Book that is tattered and has pages falling out of it from all of the years of use. Don't you just love a cook book that represents years of loving the people in your life? I sure do. Blessings...

Recipe:

4 cups pitted dates
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (I use pecans)
2 cups boiling water
2-3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/4 cups light-brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Cut the dates into thirds. Place dates and chopped nuts in a large bowl and pour boiling water over; stir and let cool to room temperature - about 45 minutes.
2. Grease two 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch loaf pans. Set aside.
3. Combine flour with baking soda and salt; set aside.
4. In a large bowl, with electric mixer at high speed, beat butter with sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Scrape sides of bowl down to combine well.
5. Stir in cooled date mixture with a wooden spoon. Add flour mixture; stir with the spoon until well combined. Turn into prepared pans.
6. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 60 - 70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Turn pans front to back half-way through baking time for even baking.
7. Cool breads in pans for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Yield: 2 loafs, 14 slices each
225 calories per slice
3.5 gms. fiber per slice

Apricot Banana Bread

Traditionally, banana nut bread is just that; a sweet quick bread that is made with ripened bananas and some kind of chopped nuts. For this recipe, chopped dried apricots and bran cereal have been incorporated to give the bread a different taste and added nutrition. These added ingredients make this bread a great addition to the breakfast menu, or as a healthy snack. This wonderfully moist and flavorful quick bread recipe comes from a Taste of Home cookbook. Blessings...

Recipe:

1/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe banana (2 to 3 medium)
1/4 cup buttermilk
1-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup 100% bran cereal (not flakes)
3/4 cup chopped dried apricots (about 6 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; mix well.
2. Combine banana and buttermilk in a small bowl.
3. In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with banana mixture beginning and ending with flour.
4. Stir in bran, apricots and nuts.
5. Scrape into a greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
7. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Yield: 14 slices
208 calories per slice
3 gms. fiber

Pumpkin Applesauce Bread

After the pumpkin pie is baked, there is almost always leftover pumpkin for another use and this moist, fruity bread is a wonderful choice for that use. This bread is delicious for breakfast, tea or snacks. In our opinion, chocolate is a great addition to the bread so this is the way I will make it from now on. But, if you are not a fan of chocolate, the original recipe was written without this addition, so feel free to omit the chocolate chips. Blessings...

Recipe: 

2/3 cup shortening
2-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sugar-free applesauce
1 cup canned mashed pumpkin
3-1/3 cups unbleached flour
2 tsps. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. mace
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2/3 cup apple juice
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Grease two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.
2. Cream the shortening and the sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Stir in the applesauce and the pumpkin.
4. Stir the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture alternately with the apple juice, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.
Pour into the prepared pans.
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Begin checking at 1 hour to see how it is doing.

Yield: 2 loaves, 13 slices per loaf
2.6 gms. fiber per slice
Note: This bread freezes beautifully.

White Chocolate Cranberry Bread

Last year when my mom came for Thanksgiving, she brought a loaf of this delicious tea bread with her. We gobbled the bread for breakfast one morning with our eggs and fruit. The combination of whole cranberries, white chocolate and toasted pecans in each slice makes for a lovely and festive presentation for any holiday table. Blessings...

Recipe: 

6 oz. good quality white chocolate, finely chopped, or chips
2-1/4 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
8 tbsps. (1 stick) salted butter, at room temp.
3 large eggs, at room temp.
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tsps. vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen whole cranberries, not thawed or chopped
1 cup toasted, coarsely broken pecans (mom used macadamia nuts)
1 cup white chocolate chips

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly butter and flour a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan and tap out excess flour.
2. Melt and cool the chopped white chocolate.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking soda.
4. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer set on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. One at a time, beat in the eggs, beating well after each addition, and scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Beat in the buttermilk, followed by the tepid white chocolate, orange zest and juice, and vanilla. The mixture will look curdled. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture, and beat just until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
6. Stir in the cranberries, nuts and white chocolate chips. Spread batter in prepared pan.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean, about 1-1/2 hours. After 45 minutes, turn loaf pan in the oven and cover the loaf with foil if it's browning too fast. I need to do this in my oven for such a lengthy baking time.
8. When bread is done, remove to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing the bread from the pan. Cool completely before cutting.

Yield: 12 slices
1.7 gms. fiber per slice

Note: Toast pecans in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. They should smell fragrant and be lightly browned.
Note: This loaf freezes beautifully

Recipe adapted from "Tate's Bake Shop Baking for Friends," by Kathleen King

Beer Bread-2

I have been making the same beer bread recipe for years, which is posted on the blog, but when I saw this recipe in a recent spice catalog I knew I had to give it a try to compare. I'm sure glad I did! This recipe is a keeper, and even a little better than the other recipe. The thing we really like about this bread is that melted butter is poured over the top of the loaf before baking to make a wonderful rich, crunchy topping. The butter also seeps down around the loaf, making it rich and delicious. So much so, that we didn't feel the need for more butter when we enjoyed the bread with our Beef Barley Soup, recipe posted on 12/11/12. I hope you might try this recipe soon for your family, blessings...

Recipe:

3 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 tbsps. baking powder
1-1/2 tsps. salt
1 12-oz. bottle of beer, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, melted for topping

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees if using a metal loaf pan and 350 degrees if using a glass pan. Lightly grease 5 x 9-inch loaf pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; stir to mix well. Add the beer and mix thoroughly.
3. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Pour the melted butter over the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until bread tests done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool slightly before slicing.

Yield: 12 slices

Chocolate-Chip Zucchini Bread

Zucchini isn't always a favorite food, especially for children, but this recipe may just change some minds in your family. Because zucchini doesn't have much flavor, what you taste in this bread is chocolate and more chocolate. The zucchini adds moisture, texture, and a little vegetable to the bread and if you have an abundance from your garden, or a neighbor's garden, this recipe helps to use it up in a delicious way. Blessings...

Recipe:

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups shredded peeled zucchini (about 2 medium)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. apple pie spice or ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder

1. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Stir in zucchini.
2. Combine dry ingredients in another bowl; add to zucchini mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Grease and flour two 8 x 4-inch loaf pans; add batter and bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 - 60 minutes or until bread tests done with a toothpick. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 2 loaves, 12 slices per loaf
Calories per slice: 258
Fiber per slice: 2 grams

Lemon Tea Bread

This wonderful bread is almost like a cake because of the syrup that is brushed over the bread when it comes right out of the oven. The bread then sits in the pan for an hour to absorb all the wonderful added flavor. It's yummy for breakfast, tea, or as a snack. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 eggs
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tsps. freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Syrup:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1. Combine sugar, butter and lemon juice in a mixing bowl.
2. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until smooth.
3. Stir together dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Four additions of flour to 3 additions of milk.
4. Add lemon zest and pecans.
5. Pour into a buttered 8" x 4" loaf pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack.
6. While bread is baking, dissolve powdered sugar in lemon juice in a small saucepan over low heat. Set aside.
7. Use a long-tined meat fork, if you have one, to pierce the entire top of the bread so the lemon syrup penetrates the entire surface. If you don't have a meat fork you can use a sharp knife, it just takes a little more time. I prefer to brush the syrup on the loaf with a pastry brush because I think it covers more evenly, but you can spoon the syrup over, as well.
8. Cool the bread in the pan for 1 hour. Remove by running a table knife around the edge of the bread to loosen it from the pan and turn out onto the rack to cool completely. If the bread is sticking, put a pancake turner under each end of the loaf to further loosen and it will turn right out.
9. When the bread is cool, wrap it in foil and set aside for 24 hours before cutting.

Cheese-Onion Bread

I've been making this bread for years and had no idea the recipe dates back to 1953! At that time, says my cookbook, biscuit mixes were new to the American kitchen as an aid in time saving over the use of yeast. Yeast breads are wonderful, but my guess is that the average cook today has never opened a package of yeast, so biscuit/baking mixes continue to be used a great deal. They provide the busy cook a way to get a tasty bread on the table in short order. This recipe is rich with butter and cheese, and is wonderful with soups and salads. Blessings...

Recipe: 

1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 tbsp. butter
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1-1/2 cups biscuit/baking mix
1 cup grated sharp or medium Cheddar cheese
2 tbsps. melted butter
1 tbsp. sesame or poppy seed

1. Cook the onion in 1 tbsp. butter until tender.
2. Measure milk in 1 cup measure and add egg. Beat with a fork and add to biscuit mix just until moistened.
3. Add onion and 1/2 cup of the cheese, stir to combine.
4. Spread dough in a greased 8" x 1-1/2" round cake pan.
5. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and sesame seed. Drizzle with 2 tbsps. melted butter.
6. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 17 - 20 minutes or until the bread tests done with a toothpick. Serve hot.

Serves 6 - 8

Traditional Banana Nut Bread

This morning was the first time in a very long time that I heard a quail call. Last year the sound of the quail "talking" with one another was a routine sound, but not this year, for some reason. I've heard other people say the same thing. Also, the geese are in flight in the early morning, a sure sign that temperatures are falling at night. I love it. As the weather begins to cool it is a lot easier to think about turning the oven on to bake something for family or friends.

Yesterday I got out an old Better Homes and Gardens recipe for Banana Nut Bread that I haven't made since my son was young. This recipe differs from the other banana bread that I have posted in that this one is very traditional in flavor. If you do not like your banana bread spicy, this one will be pleasing to you and your family. This recipe is also very easy to make and keeps well in the freezer. Blessings...

Banana Nut Bread:

2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. orange zest
1 cup mashed ripe banana
2 tbsp. milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Stir together the dry ingredients
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar till light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs and zest; beat well.
4. Combine the banana and the milk.
5. Add the banana mixture alternately to the creamed mixture with the dry ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, beating just until smooth. Stir in the nuts.
6. Turn mixture into a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 - 55 minutes. Test with a toothpick. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely.

Yield: 1 loaf, 16 slices
175 calories per slice
1 gram fiber each

Banana Nut Bread

I have updated my "older" banana bread recipe to make it a little healthier for breakfast or snacking. Try it and see what you think!
Blessings...

Recipe:

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup wheat bran

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar (not packed)

3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1-1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas

1/4 cup 1% milk

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 egg

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup ground pecans, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of loaf pan, 9 x 5 x 3 inches, or 2 loaf pans, 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inches.

2. Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl; beat 15 seconds, scrape sides of bowl down with a spatula and beat another 15 seconds until mixed thoroughly. Do not over mix.

3. Pour into pan. Bake until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 9-inch loaf 60 - 70 minutes, 8-inch loaves 50 - 60 minutes.

4. Cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely before slicing.

5. Store tightly covered at room temperature for 3 - 4 days, or freeze for longer period of time.

Yield: 14 slices per 9" loaf
165 calories per slice without nuts, 222 calories per slice with nuts.

Tip: Over-ripe bananas have the best flavor and are easily mashed with a fork. Also, if you don't have the lemon juice and zest, just use one more tablespoon of milk, it works great.

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread

A "quick" bread is so nice to bake because of the ease and simplicity of not needing yeast. This one is great for breakfast with fruit and tea, and the extra loaf freezes beautifully for future needs. Blessings...

Recipe:

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2-1/2 cups sugar, divided

2 cups low-fat buttermilk

2 eggs

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

2. In a small bowl, combine oil and 1-1/2 cups of the sugar.

3. Add buttermilk and eggs to the oil and sugar mixture; mix well.

4. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients just until moistened.

5. Fill two greased 8" x 4" loaf pans about one-third full.

6. Combine the cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle half over the batter.

7. Top with remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar.

8. Swirl batter with a knife and sprinkle 1 tablespoon nuts over each loaf.

9. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

10. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Tip: For ease in removing the bread from the pans, run a bread and butter knife around the perimeter of the pan to loosen, then using a spatula, lift the bread up from the bottom of the pan. Carefully turn the bread out onto the rack to cool completely. Place unused loaf in a freezer bag for storage in the freezer.