Maple Oat Quick Bread

Maple Oat Bread

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I finally got the chance to use my mini food processor prep thingy! It’s blue.

blue machine

It’s also nice and small, and it doesn’t daunt me the way a full-size food processor does. A real one involves lots of digging in the back of the cupboard, and searching for parts, and wondering how long we’ve had it and if it still works, and then worrying about how to clean it. This thing is tiny and easy and pretty and has very few settings and parts.

So step one, done with ease, was grinding up a cup and a half of oats. That meant transforming this:

oats

to this:

oats, ground

So simple! I know most people aren’t intimidated by food processors, but I am, so this little blue gadget is an excellent addition to my already overcrowded counter top.

To the oats-turned-oat-flour I added whole wheat white flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. The zest seemed like an odd addition, but there it was in the recipe, so in it went.

dry ingredients with zest

I whisked that all together, then took out another bowl for the liquid ingredients.

pouring buttermilk

That’s buttermilk, eggs, maple syrup, honey, vanilla, melted butter, yogurt, and lemon juice (also weird, but I’d already included the zest so I was all in).

I was supposed to put them all in a food processor but (a) I think we’ve already covered my feelings on such matters, and (b) my mini processor was not going to be large enough AND already had oat powder residue in it. I opted for my trusty spatula instead.

spatula pre-stirring

liquid ingredients, stirred

I poured the orange bowl into the green one. (Yes, we haven’t talked about my absent yellow bowl. I haven’t fully accepted that it’s broken and gone. I miss it too much to discuss.)

pouring

Once mixed, it looked like batter.

batter

I scraped and glopped it into a loaf pan, then sprinkled a little turbinado across the top.

batter in pan with sugar

The directions said to bake for an hour. I checked mine at 40 minutes and it was definitely done, perhaps a little overdone. Oops.

loaf, baked, in pan

loaf on rack

And the bottom line? I have to be honest: it’s a little…meh. It’s okay. I find the lemon and maple to be a slightly odd combination, and I think I would have preferred the oats to be whole and oaty. It’s fine, I had it for breakfast this morning, but it’s heavier than it needs to be. It’s all right, but it’s nothing special, and I like my baked goods to be special. I’m fussy that way.

I do think, however, that I could work with it and turn what I actually imagined when I first spied the words “maple oat quick bread”. So I’ll post my version of the recipe, and remember to come back to it and play with it a little. I love a good quick bread, and maybe this can become one.

loaf on rack

MAPLE OAT QUICK BREAD RECIPE (original)

My version of Maple Oat Quick Bread (adapted from Healthy Eating For Ordinary People)

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats1 1/3 cups whole wheat white flour
2/3 cup toasted wheat germ
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 cup 1% buttermilk
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons low fat vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray or grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.

In a food processor, grind the oats into a coarse flour. Pour into a large bowl. Add the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and lemon zest, and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk maple syrup, honey, butter, yogurt, vanilla, and lemon juice. Stir briskly until thoroughly combined.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour and mix well.

Scoop batter into a loaf pan and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake for 35-60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Give it ten minutes in the pan before removing to a wire rack.

maple oat quick bread

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