Delicious Bran Loaf

Delicious Bran Loaf  (Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 265).

Another "healthy" recipe, this one is on the next page following Health Food Raisin Bread. I think I like this one better but they are both good. I like the addition of dates to this recipe and it makes the cake (or bread) more moist. This isn't sweet and it makes a good bread for breakfast or a coffee break. 

I used Kellogg's All-Bran cereal for the recipe (and Maida Heatter said that she did too) and I did not include the sunflower or pumpkin seeds, which are optional.

1 cup 100% bran cereal
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup dark or light molasses
2 TBS unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup boiling water
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup walnuts or pecans in large pieces
1/2 cup dates, cut into pieces
Optional: 1/4 cup unsalted sunflower or pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup unsifted all-purpose whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsifted all-purpose white flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 3/4 inch loaf pan and dust it with wheat germ, quick-cooking oatmeal or fine, dry bread crumbs. (I used wheat germ)

Place the bran, raisins, molasses and butter in a large mixing bowl.

Add the boiling water and stir until the butter has melted.

Add the egg, nuts, dates and optional seeds. 

Sift the two flours, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon over the mixture in the bowl.

Stir until just mixed.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is barely firm to the touch.

Cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. 

Health Food Raisin Bread

Health Food Raisin Bread (Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 264).

I love to have a sweet bread or cake with my morning coffee but I have been trying to limit my sugar intake. That is hard to do with Maida Heatter's recipes but this one recently caught my eye. There is no sugar in it and it is sweetened with honey and molasses. I really like it, especially with cream cheese. She has some similar recipes of this nature that I plan to try soon. 

I do not normally use that much whole wheat flour so I store it in our old refrigerator in the garage. I used Bob's Red Mill stone ground wheat flour for this. Wheat germ is another item I store in the refrigerator. I did not toast this for the recipe but the next time I will try doing that. For the molasses, I happened to have some Brer Rabbit molasses in the cabinet that I used earlier in the year for another recipe.

A 6-cup capacity loaf pan is needed for the recipe. I had a long, narrow pan (measuring about 12" x 4.5") stored away that I just started using and I love it. It bakes faster than wider pans so keep in mind that pan size can affect baking times. This recipes specifies 50 minutes but mine was done in 40.

This is a fast and easy to make! I did not even use a mixer for this.

2 cups unsifted all-purpose whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unsifted all-purpose white flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 cups (6 oz.) raisins (dark or light)
1/4 cup wheat germ, untoasted or toasted
1/2 cup milk
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup dark or light molasses

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 6-cup capacity loaf pan and dust it with wheat germ (you can use toasted wheat germ as well).

Place both whole wheat and all-purpose flour in a mixing bowl and whisk together. Add the baking powder through a fine strainer.

Stir in the raisins, being sure to separate them and make sure they are all floured.

Stir in the wheat germ.

Mix together the milk, buttermilk, honey and molasses.

Add the milk mixture to the batter and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Place the batter into the pan, smooth the top and form a slight trench down the middle of the top with a spoon. 

Bake for 40 - 50 minutes until the top feels semi-firm and a tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before turning out and allowing to cool completely on a wire rack.

After cooling, wrap the bread well. It dries out quickly.