Sunday, December 13, 2009

Time To Cook: Apple Bread

It's that time again, time of year where thoughts turn to sugarplums dancing in heads. Or, around here, it's baking time.

I'm trying a couple of new recipes this time around. I usually knock out a dozen or so loaves of banana nut bread, but decided to add apple bread and carrot bread to the mix.

For the apple bread:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cloves
4 cups (about a pound) diced apples

Heat oven to 350 degrees.











Grease two loaf pans (9"x5" or similar), tops and sides.







Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices.













Cream butter and sugar together.












Beat eggs and add them to butter sugar mixture.














Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients.














The batter will be thick.












Fold apples into batter.











Here's what the batter will look like. It may seem a little dry. If you're having trouble mixing everything, you can use your hands.








Spoon mixture into greased pans. Place in the oven for 50-60 minutes.








I usually check early, just in case. Here you can see how the batter is still wet.










The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It may also come out a little wet because of the apples.







Chances are the crust will crack a little. That's okay. Just letting out a little steam.










After removing pans from the oven, let sit 15 minutes. Then take a rubber spatula and loosen sides. Invert on a wire rack.
















Chances are, the bread will be a little moist. It's all the apples. Don't worry about it. Let cool for an hour.










If for some reason your bread didn't cook all the way through, it might tear. It's still good eating.
Serves up awful well with milk. I think I'm going to add some nutmeg next time.

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