Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Bread

Ingredients 

2 cups oat flour 

1 large sweet potato, peeled 

1 tsp vanilla 

1 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

1/4 tsp salt 

1/4 cup coconut oil 

1/2 cup egg whites 

1/4 cup maple syrup 

1/2 cup Chocolate chips * dairy free, if needed

Directions 

Preheat oven 350 F. 

Prepare /line a 8 x 5 loaf pan

Cut sweet potato into chunks. Place in a microwave safe bowl. Add a little water to bowl of sweet potatoes and microwave 5 min. 

When cooked, add to a stand mixer. Blend until mashed. Add egg whites, vanilla, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Blend until combined. 

In a separate bowl add oat flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin spice and cinnamon. Stir to combine. 

Add dry ingredients to wet. Blend together. 

Fold in chocolate chips. 

Pour mixture into loaf pan. 

Bake 35-40 min. Until knife comes out clean. 

Let cool. 

Enjoy! 

Glazed Zucchini Lemon Loaf- Take 2

I'm Back!

Yes, I know, my last post was in Nov. 2016. 😲

But a lot has happened since then! My son is now almost 2, I have another little one on the way AND we moved back to California!!!! (I'm going to have to change my blog blurb hahaha).

Another big change is I am now a stay at home mama! This is a new adventure for me --my amazing husband worked part time and was a stay at home dad for over a year with our son-- but it has been such a wonderful experience to be with my son every day. Don't get me wrong, I'm exhausted, sometimes bored, and force us to get out every day for my own sanity but truly, seeing my son grow has been a gift. I'm not sure how long it will last but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

So since I have all this time on my hands (sarcasm my friends) I wanted to pick this food/health blogging thing back up.



So here goes:

Zucchini Lemon Loaf --Take 2.
You can read and make my first version HERE but this one was a little different so I thought I'd share.

Makes 1- 9x5 Loaf

Ingredients: 
2 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup applesauce
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
2 tbs lemon juice ( ~1/2 of a large lemon's juice squeezed)
1 cup grated zucchini - patted dry.

Lemon Glaze 
1 Cup powdered sugar
1 tbs lemon juice
milk drops as needed ( to get desired consistency.) 

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix your flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Wisk your applesauce, sugar and butter in a small bowl until well combined. Blend in eggs and lemon juice.
Fold your wet ingredients into your dry and add in the grated zucchini.
Gently and evenly pour mixture into a greased loaf pan and bake for 45-60min until a knife comes out clean.
Let cool for 15 min out of pan.

Blend the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl. If not liquid enough, add in a few splashes of milk until you reach your desired consistency.
Gently pour glaze over your cooled loaf and let sit for another 15-20 min.

Enjoy!

Store in a refrigerator for up to a week.

Pumpkin Banana Bread

This Pumpkin Banana Bread is a perfect treat for your fall gatherings. It's very moist and full of flavor. Plus, who doesn't love pumpkin and banana bread? Put them together and you get awesomeness.

The best part? All of the ingredients can be found in your home and it's so easy to make.

So gather them up and bake away!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 15 oz can pumpkin (not filling)
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas
1 cup packed brown sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven 350 degrees
Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix all the wet ingredients, except the bananas, in a small bowl. Gently mash the bananas into the wet mixture, but don't over mix.
Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour badder into a large 9x5 pan.

Bake for 50-60 min or until knife comes out clean.

Remove from pan and let cool for 10 min before serving. 

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Loaf

All you need is one hour. 

Then this bread is yours to devour. 

Alright, done with rhyming but hey, can't beat 60 minutes for a fresh baked loaf of sweet pumpkin bread.

 

Admittedly, this my first attempt at baking pumpkin bread, and if I do say so myself, it was a success.
Simple ingredients, quick mixing, and some time to pass while your home begins to waft with the smell of sweet  pumpkin while it bakes, and your done.


Ingredients:
1 15oz can of pumpkin
½ cup oil or applesauce
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1½ cup flour
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Prepare a large loaf pan with non-stick spray, set aside.
Beat pumpkin, oil or applesauce,sugar, and eggs together until smooth. Add in flour, salt, pumpkin spice, and baking soda until well combined.
Pour batter evenly into a large loaf pan.
Bake for 60 min or until knife comes out clean

Let cool for 10 min on a cooling rack.

Enjoy!!!!

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

Ready for your house to smell like a Cinnabon?  

This bread will do the trick. 

I've wanted to make this bread for so long.
I've had it pinned on my Pinterest board for almost a year and thanks to a snow day, I finally had to time to make it and am I oh so glad that I did.

Plus it looks so cool when you cut into it!
How can you resist?

Simple ingredients, minimal work, delicious bread.
Can't get much better than that.

Recipe adapted from Pinch of Yum

Ingredients:
2 tbs sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 tsp yeast
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tbs vital wheat gluten
1 tsp salt
2 tbs olive oil
2tbs cinnamon
1/2 cup  white sugar
1/2 cup raisins,  plumped*

*boil water let raisins soak in it for about 5 min.

Directions: 
To warm water, place in microwave for 1min.
Add 2 tbs sugar and yeast and let sit until frothy, about 5 min.
Add in flour, salt, oil, and raisins and knead by hand, mixer, or bread machine* for 5-10 min until dough is comes together to form a soft, slightly  sticky ball. You may need to sprinkle in more flour if it's  too sticky. Place mixed dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour.
*I let the yeast froth in my bread machine pan, added the rest of the ingredients, and then set my machine to "Dough" cycle and let it run the first knead cycle, then stopped it and let it rest for the 1 hour).

Remove dough from the bowl/pan and place on lightly floured surface.
Roll out dough into a large rectangle.
Mix together 1/2 sugar and cinnamon  and sprinkle it over the top of the rectangle.
Carefuly roll up dough width-wise, to form a loaf. Then pinch together the two ends and the seam.
Place loaf in lightly grease pan, cover, and let rise for 30 min until loaf fill the pan.

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Bake loaf for 30-35 min. Until top is nice golden brown* 
* I baked mine for the full 35 min just to make sure it was fully cooked in the center.
* I also placed a piece of foil over the top of the loaf around 15 min to keep the top from browning too much.

Let cool all the way before you cut into it, otherwise it tends to sink in.

Butter it up and enjoy!

It toasts wonderful! And makes fantastic bread for french toast!

ENJOY!!!!

Super Fast French Bread

French bread pairs well with many dishes. But often times by the time we need it it's too late to run to the store and we don't have hours to spend kneading and waiting and then kneading and waiting some more.

Never fear again.

This recipe from Deals to Meals will change your life.  

It has mine. 

Thank you.

In my particular dinner scenario, I was making chili; delicious, savory chili that yearned for a crispy-edged but soft center bread; but my chili was to be done in 1 hour!
Enter, this recipe.
It's the amount of yeast that does it; Putting your dough on overdrive, in a good way.

Now, the original recipe made 2 to VERY large loafs or 3 medium-small loafs.
But I cut the recipe in half and made 1 large, beautiful loaf. However, I did have to have faith during the process....

I cut the recipe into an approximate half and just had faith that it would work out. Well  I was following the directions exactly and I came to the steamy-water oven phase and well, my dough was not "rising to the top of the bowl" so that I could "punch it down." It did grow a little, but it actually got super moist and I had to add more flour to handle it.

So after about 15 min in the steamy sauna, I decided shape the dough and let it rise. Now this was another faith moment. The original recipe states that you can place your ready-shaped dough in the oven at 170 F. to rise until it's the size you want it to be and then just turn your oven up to 375 F. WITHOUT OPENING THE OVEN. to bake to perfection. My problem, I don't have a window on my oven. Just an older plain, non-see-through  oven door. But I had faith. I turned the oven to 170, placed my shaped dough inside, set the timer for 15 (no idea why, but sounded good) and once the timer went off up to 375 the temp went for 20 min.
When the time came to open the door, it was a miracle. I had a golden brown, delicious looking loaf a bread, ready to be devoured with my chili.

It's inside?  A little dense--probably because it didn't rise much so not enough air was in the dough-- but PERFECT for soaking up soup!

So now, do you need bread? Have 60 min? Go.



Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup water, warmed
1 tbs yeast
1 1/2 tbs sugar
1 tbs vinegar
1/2 tbs salt
3 tsp oil (i used canola)
3-4 cups flour, measure out 3 and you may need to add more as you go.
1 egg, whisked
pot of boiling water

Directions:
Lightly spray a large baking sheet with an oil (cooking spray or misto!) and sprinkle with cornmeal, set aside.

Start a a pot of water and bring to boil.

Mix the warm water, yeast, sugar, and vinegar together and let it sit to get bubbly--about 3-5 min.

Mix salt, oil, and flour together in a medium bowl.

When yeast mixture is nice and bubbly mix with flour mixture and knead 2-5 times in bowl. Add flour as needed to fold dough.

Place kneaded dough and boiled water in a OFF oven and let rest for 10-15 min. Dough may rise, if so, punch down, and let rest.

Place dough on a floured surface and shape into a loaf. Place onto prepared baking sheet.
The loaf  may be soft and spread out but do not fear, add flour as needed and keep working.
Make large, deep slashes into the top of bread if desired (I did but they baked out, lol)
Whisk egg and spread on dough.
Preheat oven 170-175 F.
Place dough into the oven until the size you want, or for those without window ovens about 15 min, then turn oven up to 375 F. and bake for 20-25 min.

Open your oven to see a beautiful, golden, french bread. 

ENJOY!!!!

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Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I love my bread machine. 

I love it. 

Did I mention, I love it? 

Yes. 

It's true. 

I love bread, and my machine makes it for me. 

What more can I ask for? 

So here is a wonderful, pretty healthy, delicious for breakfast, snacks, and dessert, cinnamony sweet raisin bread; for your bread machine!

Recipe adapted from food.com and 100 days of real food

Ingredients: 
yields 1.5lb loaf 
1 cup warm water *
1 1/2 cup bread flour**
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs honey
2 tbs sugar 
1 tbs brown sugar 
2 1/4 tsp bread yeast/Fast acting yeast.
1 cup raisins, soaked**

 Directions: 
 * I microwaved the water for 1 min.
**Bread flour is the best for bread machines and almost always generates wonderful, RISEN, bread; however, the original recipes use all-purpose flour.
** Soak your raisins for 5 min in boiling water to make then large and full.  Then toss in some flour before adding to the machine.

Follow the instructions for your bread machine the order the liquids and dry ingredients go in. My water goes in first, then flour, then the rest. 

Make sure that none of your ingredients touch each other before you start. Add yeast last, by making drilling a small whole in the flour with your finger (preferably the middle of the bread pan) and fill with yeast. 

Set machine to "Sweet" and "Light Crust" (Mine was 3:00hrs).

***I made this overnight, meaning I set the timer to delay until 3 hours before I woke up, that way, when I woke up, I woke to the smell of sweet cinnamon!****

When done, cool on rack for 15 min. 
Enjoy plain or toasted; My husband and I loved both!
 

Apple Sauce Bread

This was an experiment bread that turned out wonderful! 

I had half of a jar of applesauce (about 4 cups of apple sauce!) and it needed to go soon (it molds so fast!). 

SO I pulled from a concoction of  bread recipes  to make this spice-full, perfect for fall, Apple Sauce Bread.

Feel free to adapt/add what you want to make it yours!

Ingredients:

• 2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 cup White Flour
• 2 tbs cinnamon
• 1 tbs nutmeg
• 1 tsp all spice, ground
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 cup all natural apple sauce
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar + 1tbs, divided
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1tbs ground flaxseed + 3tbs water
• 1/2 cup of raisins

Directions:

Mix flaxseed and water in a small dish and set a side for 3-5 min. (allows it to get gummy)

Mix flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder  in a large bowl

Mix apple sauce, brown and white sugar, flaxseed mix, nutmeg, and all spice in a smaller bowl

Blend wet ingredients into dry and stir until well combined. Then gently fold in raisins. 

Pour mix in a 9x5 Pan

Sprinkle 1 tbs brown sugar on top

Bake 50-60 min or until knife comes out clean. 

 

Let cool for 20 min and then serve.

ENJOY!!!!

Lemon Zucchini Loaf

It all started with a zucchini. It came into my possession one Saturday morning while roaming the vendor aisles of the farmers market. I thought to myself, "Hey, its zucchini season and I've seen a LOT of Pinterest posts that use the stuff so why don't I buy one large one and make something fantastic". 

Well the sad part of the story is I couldn't make up my mind. There were TOO MANY options such as: Zucchini chips, zucchini bites, normal delicious zucchini bread or muffins...the list is endless. Unfortunately,  my inability to decide led to the ends of the large zucchini to go mushy. :( So when it came down to it I had about 1 cup's worth of grated zucchini and we all know the main ingredient in zucchini bread (besides the flour) is the zucchini (I mean, it named after it!) 
So that was out, so were the bites, and the chips would have only been about a handful. So I looked for other options....and thus I found this recipe! It called for ONE CUP of GRATED ZUCCHINI. 
I know, I know, the stars were aligned in my favor. 
So now I am going to share it with you!

Lemon Zucchini Loaf with Lemon Glaze
 slightly adapted from nancycreative.com

Ingredients: 
Makes one 9×5″ loaf

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (I didn't have butter milk, but I did THIS and it turned our just fine!)
• Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice)
• Zest of 1 lemon (Since I used lemon juice I didn't do this. Turned out lemon-y enough for me!)
• 1 cup grated zucchini (you don’t need to peel the zucchini before grating it) 

 Lemon Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbs lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Non-stick a 9x5" pan with whatever you'd like; set aside.
In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a smaller bowl mix eggs, sugar, yogurt and oil. Then mix in butter milk, and lemon juice until well combined. 
Slowly mix in wet ingredients into dry and stir till well combined. 
Gently fold in zucchini, but don't over mix.

Pour batter evenly into pan and bake for 45 min or until toothpick comes out clean.

Take out of pan and place on a cooling rack. Now make the glaze.

whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl. 

Once loaf has cooled to touch pour over loaf. let sit or refrigerate for best "hardening" results. 

Slice, Serve, and ENJOY!!!!