Honey Oat Quick Bread

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Yesterday I was poking around the web looking for quick bread recipes, and came across this one. I liked the look of it, I liked the ingredients, but most of all, the reviews were almost all glowing. A few people had some trouble with texture, but the vast majority of people who made this thought it was pretty stupendous. So I gave it a shot.

I’m glad I did. It’s so good! Easy to whip together and worth making even if it wasn’t. My first bready bread. I did fumble a little along the way, but I fixed it. (That’s why they’re baking ADVENTURES….)

The first instruction was to spray a loaf pan and then put in a tablespoon of oats and bang them around to coat the bottom and sides. I needed more than two tablespoons to do the trick, though, and I still wasn’t sure I had it quite right.

coating pan

Next up, dry ingredients. I decided to change things up a bit per some of the reviews, so I used 1 1/3 cup whole wheat white and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose. Then baking powder, baking soda, and salt, in amounts that seemed odd to me. The oddest was 1 1/4 teaspoons salt. I balked. I put in a little less, but now that I’ve eaten the final product, I see how the salt fits in perfectly with the flavor. Everything you put into this bread comes through in its wonderful taste, it’s like a symphony. Some ingredients are louder than others but all are essential.

I also threw in two heaping teaspoons of cinnamon. Why not? I whisked.

dry ingredients

Now comes the mis-step. It said to put in one scant cup of yogurt and a cup of oats. I plopped the oats into a bowl and poured out just under a cup of low fat vanilla yogurt. See?

yogurt

I added to the oats. And then I looked at the recipe again.  Oops. It said GREEK yogurt, not regular yogurt, which I KNOW is different, so guess what? I had to pour away a cup of oats and a cup of yogurt, right down the drain. It was dismaying, as I bake a lot with both ingredients and I hate the waste. Boooooo.

But I scrubbed out the bowl and started again. Oats, GREEK yogurt, an egg, canola oil, and clover honey.

wet ingredients

I used a fork to mix, as specifically instructed. (I like specificity.) It got a little barfy-looking.

mixed

Then I had to add three quarters of a cup of milk. (By the way, this recipe does require EVERY size of measuring cup you have in your kitchen.) When I poured it on, it looked like soup.

added milk

The texture was still somewhat worrisome, even after I stirred it, but I kept going and poured the wet ingredients into the bowl with the flour mixture.

pouring

ewww

I know. Ewwwww.

I stirred just until combined.

combined

Now I had a thick batter and I was glad that the directions said to “scrape” the batter into the pan. I hate when a recipe says to pour something that isn’t pourable, or to spoon something that’s really just liquid, it makes me worry that I’ve done it all wrong because the texture isn’t what it’s supposed to be. In this case it was indeed all about scraping, because the batter was very thick.

I spread it as evenly as I could and sprinkled a tablespoon of oats over the top.

batter in pan with oats

I put in into the oven and started checking it at 30 minutes. In 33, it was done, taking on a lovely dark brown color on the top.

baked, in pan

It smelled good too.

I gave it 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.

bread out of pan

I stalled as long as I could before slicing it open, which was not as long as it said to wait, but I’m not the most patient person in the world.

I sliced.

sliced

I tasted.

I smiled.

I tasted more.

This bread is wonderful. It has a touch of sweetness, it’s soft, but it’s filling at the same time. I can eat it plain, but for Nathaniel I spread some honey on it, which he loved.

What a find! I already have some people in mind I’d like to make this for. It’s not really Weight Watchers-friendly, being 5 points a slice, except that in that 5 points plus, you’re getting iron, fiber, and some very filling deliciousness. Worth it for sure. Can’t wait for my next piece.

HONEY OAT QUICK BREAD  (original)

My version of Honey Oat Quick Bread (adapted from Home Is Where The Cookies Are)

ingredients:

3 tablespoons plus 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, divided
1 1/3 cups whole wheat white flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
8 ounces (scant 1 cup) plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
1 large egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup clover honey, or other mild honey
3/4 cup nonfat or low-fat milk

directions:

Position rack in middle of oven and heat to 375°F. Generously coat a 9-by-5-inch (or similar size) loaf pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons oats in the pan. Tip the pan back and forth to coat the sides and bottom with oats. I found this best done one tablespoon at a time to make sure it coated fairly evenly.

In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, use a fork to beat the remaining 1 cup oats, yogurt, egg, oil and honey until well blended. Stir in milk.

Gently stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture just until thoroughly incorporated but not overmixed. Immediately scrape the batter into the pan, spreading evenly to the edges. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon oats over the top.

Bake the loaf until well browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes (Mine was done at 33.)  It’s normal for the top to crack.)

Let stand in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a table knife around and under the loaf to loosen it and turn it out onto the rack. Let cool until you can’t take it anymore, then eat.

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