back to bread

i have a very large number of bread recipes. despite my exuberance over finding biscuits and, more recently, pizza crust that i can eat, I still make most of my bread myself (that is a terrible sentence and i apologize but i'm not changing it). it's easy to do on the weekend usually one loaf will last me through the week. it even makes things more palatable...

i made a cheddar and broccoli soup a few weeks back from what was supposed to be the TGIFriday's recipe. i've never had the restaurant's version, but this version definitely fell flat. i'm not sure what happened, but i couldn't palate it and i froze about half of it and managed to eat the other half. but so i was confronted with these tupperware containers of soup i needed to get rid of. and brilliance struck. i made this delicious honey wheat bread that was an excellent compatriot to this soup. i defrosted it and drained the excess water off occasionally and voila, a decent way to eat the soup and not become completely disgusted by it.

it's from an egg free cookbook my mom found. there are variations at the end of the recipe.

Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread

"this basic, quintessential, not-too-sweet quick bread--quick, simple, hearty, and rich despite the fact that it contains no eggs or butter. Although you can use it for sandwiches, this is best served warm, as part of a meal."

Oil/butter for greasing the pan
1 2/3 c buttermilk or yogurt (or 1 1/2 c milk plus 2 T white vinegar)
2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c cornmeal
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1/2 c molasses

1. Preheat the oven to 325. Grease an 8x4 or 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. If you're using buttermilk or yogurt, ignore this step. If not make the soured milk: Warm the milk gently--1 minute in the microwave is sufficient, just enough to take the chill off--and add the vinegar. Let it rest while you prepare the other ingredients.
3. Mix together the dry ingredients. Stir the molasses into the buttermilk. Stir the liquid into the dry (just enough to combine), then pour into the loaf pan. Bake until firm and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about an hour. cool on a rack for about 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Lighter whole wheat quick bread: a little cakier: use 1 1/2 c whole wheat and 1 1/2 c all purpose flour; omit the cornmeal. Substitute honey for the molasses for lighter flavor and color. Beat 1 egg into the wet ingredient in step 3.

So that's that. My mom has made it with the molasses and we've decided that honey is the better way to go. I don't remember eating the molasses version, but she says that it's bitter. I have made it both with the cornmeal and alternately with the all purpose flour. It stays a little denser and damper (it's weird but if you do it you'll understand) with the cornmeal, but both recipes work. The cornmeal version reminds me of what i read about Boston brown bread, though I've never tried that or done anything but read about it.

Either way, it's delicious. and whole wheat! good for the heart. :)

ps do check it with a toothpick or the cake sticker thingy...i undercooked this majorly the first time thinking it was done and it wasn't. it looked a little burned on the outside this time when i finished with it, but it was perfectly done inside and was definitely not burned!