Whole Wheat Apple Bread

This is a quick bread (i.e., no yeast involved.) I just tried it for the first time this morning, and oh boy, it's good! I have enough apples left over that I'm going for batch #2! I may try to hit it with just a little cloves... but it's really delicious as-is.

From Penzeys’ Harvest 2009; Recipe by Ruth Weber. Makes 2 loaves.

1 c vegetable oil (not olive)
2 c sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
3 cups whole wheat flour, OR1 ½ cups whole wheat & 1 ½ cups unbleached AP flour
1 ts salt
1 ts baking soda
2 cups chopped, peeled baking apples (about 4 Granny Smith or McIntosh)
1 cup nuts, pecan or walnut
2 ts pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease and flour two 8 ½ x 4 ½ (I used 9x5) loaf pans and set aside. (Crisco is good for greasing pans.)

In a large bowl, combine the oil, sugar and eggs.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking soda. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing well after each addition.

Fold in the apples, nuts and vanilla. Spoon into the loaf pans and smooth out.

Note: This is a fairly stiff dough, even before you add the apples and nuts. By the time I got done with them, I was looking at the mixture in dismay and wondering what I'd done wrong. Don't worry... it'll be okay! (The original recipe said "pour the dough into the loaf pans." No WAY this stuff can be poured!)

Bake at 350 for about 1 ½ hours or until a toothpick inserted into the loaves comes out clean. Turn out of the pans while still slightly warm (wait about 20-30 minutes) and cool on rack.

@Megan wrote: (Crisco is good for geasing pans.)

Gonna share my secret nothing will stick in your baking pans EVER AGIAN recipe.

I do not give this away often....so listen up.

It works on stoneware, stainless fluted pans, bundt pans...I have NEVER HAD IT FAIL......it makes decorative pans like rose style bundt pans EASY to use....it makes MINI MUFFIN tins a breeze!

PAN-EEZ (Not PANTIES...PAN-EEZ. )

EQUAL PARTS OF THE FOLLOWING (I use 1/3 cup of each in a 1 cup measuring bowl with lid and I store in my pantry...shelf life is indefinte...I have NEVER had it go bad)

FLOUR
VEGTABLE OIL
SHORTENING

wisk together until smooth and then brush on the baking pan of your choice with a pastry brush.
Save on the shelf in your pantry.

Alton Brown recommends a blend of flour and shortening, but it's pretty dense in consistency. I'm going to give your blend a try, middlemama!

Hmmm... I think I have all of those ingredients on hand... *running off to check*

My house smells so lovely, warm apples... I can't wait to taste it! Thank you for sharing the recipe

Welcome miinva! I hope you liked it. Hubby and I had a slice each and the rest has been frozen for my niece... all 4 loaves (a double batch!) Oh boy is it yummy.

Jen, that's a nice trick. I hardly ever need to grease/flour pans anymore, I didn't even think of that. (These were foil loaf pans; my Pyrex loaf pan is bigger than the recipe calls for.)

Thanks for sharing this! So excited to try it. After the holidays! To much baking going on right now and don't think I can fit in another project! We make onlt whole wheat bread in our house now from wheat we grind ourselves and it's so good!
Thanks middlemamma for the Pan- ezz I'm gonna try that too!

This sounds so yummy! Thanks Megan!
I have a similar recipe, but when it's time for the apples, the recipe calls for the batter to be poured into a flat pan and the slices of apples lined up and stuck into the dough/batter, I will see if I can dig that recipe out.

I wish I had the ingredients handy to make your bread Megan...sounds divine.

My wife is now making a finish coffee bread called Pulla bread. Absolutely fabulous in taste and texture. She has thrown out all of the Fleishmans yeast. We are now using one called Safe-Instant. Comes in pound packages and can be frozen when not in use. She said to use the gold package as she like it better than the red package. I just checked Google and Amazon carries it as well as other on-line stores. You may be able to get it locally, especially if there are any kitchen-food storage type stores locally. After you use this yeast, you will not go back to Fleishmans.

Good Luck and enjoy the bread.
Bruce
PS Here is a web site with a recipe. If you like cardamon, add more than they say.
http://www.grouprecipes.com/72418/finnish-pulla-coffee-bread-ring.html

Cool, thanks Bruce! I will have to try the Pulla, sounds very yummy. I buy my yeast in large quantities and keep it frozen, also. Much cheaper that way.