This month’s Recipe Redux is all about creative quick breads. If you haven’t noticed, the holidays are here and so is baking season! Perfect timing to show off our latest creations that go beyond the usual banana bread (which of course we love and Lesley has the most amazing recipe ever)!
I love making bread, and quick breads especially because, as the name implies, they are quick. In fact, my Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins were originally a quick bread recipe (the same recipe will make 2 loaves) but my children seemed to like them more in muffin form. So I had to figure out how to top that one as it is truly one of my favorites.
I decided to experiment with some other seasonal fruits that my family loves. I still had some apples leftover from our annual apple picking excursion last month that were just begging to be used in something other than apple sauce and apple butter (I’ve already canned several batches of both).
Pomegranates are also plentiful in my home this time of year as they probably rank in the top 3 of my children’s favorite fruits (apples are probably #1). And ever since I bought this pomegranate deseeder tool (affiliate link), which makes removing the arils super easy, fast and fun, we just can’t get enough of them.
So voilà, Apple Pomegranate Bread was born! This bread has a lot of texture between the soft apple chunks and the crunch of the pomegranates. I was surprised at how much crunch the pomegranates still had, which I rather enjoyed in contrast to the softness of the apples and bread.
This recipe makes 2 loaves at a time – perfect for the holidays. You can give both away, or give one and keep one for yourself! It also freezes well so you can always save a loaf for another time too, which is especially helpful if you will be entertaining and need to make something in advance.
Enjoy!
Apple Pomegranate Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups white whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup ground flaxseed
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp allspice
- dash nutmeg
- dash cloves
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup applesauce
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 cup milk
- 2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1½ cup pomegranate arils
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 2 9x5 loaf pans well with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium size bowl, stir together the flour, flaxseed, baking soda and salt. Add the cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cloves and stir well.
- In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Whisk in the applesauce, brown sugar, white sugar, canola oil and milk.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just until moistened. Fold in the apple and pomegranates.
- Divide the batter between the 2 loaf pans. Bake in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let bread sit in pans for about 5 minutes, then loosen sides with a knife and remove bread from pan. Let cool completely on a rack. Slice and serve.
