Packed with cinnamon, fresh apples – and yes, potatoes – this pleasingly moist and rich in complex carbohydrates treat is perfect for cool, fall days
I absolutely love to make breads of all kinds. Yeast or quick breads, both have special appeal I find relaxing, enjoyable, and with much anticipated excitement for the final product.
Baking bread always takes me back to when as a child, my great aunt Elsie Theel taught me her bread-baking secrets along with how to make the perfect pie crust. She was a wonderful cook as was my mom! My inspiration for baking continued with the skilled knowledge of my 4-H cooking leaders, Doris Floyd and Juanita Tousignant. Under their guidance, my bread baking skills flourished. In my 10 years as a 4-H member, just about every year, I took a yeast or quick bread to be judged at the 4-H fairs in Herington and Abilene, Kansas. However today, my bread-making days are now far and few between. So, when I do get time to test my bakery skills, it’s always a treat.
Here’s a wonderful adaptation of typical apple cinnamon potato bread, much lower in simple carbs like sugar and higher in fiber-rich 100% whole wheat flour. Loaded with chunky cut tart apples and the sweet, woody flavor and slight citrusy note of cinnamon, this quick bread is sure to be a family favorite. Whatever apple you choose to use in this recipe, it must be tart and good for baking. Some of the best “baking apples” include Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Gala, Cortland, and Braeburn.
Now to the potatoes…most of us like and associate potatoes eaten either mashed, baked, roasted, or fried. But in a bread recipe? Sure, why not! Potatoes have more uses than just as a mainstay side dish. Our favorite tuber helps create some of the tastiest and tender breads you can imagine. Who would have guessed a white potato is the secret ingredient to light and airy bread?
Nutritionally, this veggie is stuffed with various vitamins and minerals. For this recipe, I recommend using Russet (aka Idaho) potatoes. These oblong potatoes are perfect for mashing and baking thanks to their thick skin and fluffy flesh. And if you’re wondering how Russet potatoes stack up to other veggies in terms of nutrition? Here’s what one medium-sized Russet potato with skin offers:
- 25% of daily potassium
- 35% of daily vitamin C
- 30% of daily vitamin B6
- Four grams of fiber
- Five grams of protein
Besides potatoes, another unusual ingredient I used is avocado oil. Because of avocado oil’s high smoke point, it can be heated to higher temperatures than oils such as extra virgin olive oil. It’s high smoke point makes it perfect for pan-frying, roasting, and baking, making it very versatile. Plus, since this oil derives from the only fruit that contains fat – avocados – it’s loaded with heart healthy monounsaturated fat. I recommend using cold-pressed extra virgin avocado oil that is the best nutritionally. And in case you are wondering what avocado oil tastes like, well…like an avocado except milder with a smooth flavor falling between nutty and grassy.
One more thing; the secret to an award-winning quick bread – DO NOT OVERMIX! At the time when you put the batter into the loaf pan, the batter should still show signs of wisps of flour and will be lumpy – that’s normal! Overmixing causes quick breads to deflate after baking and the baked interior will have tunnels or holes.
Its time to take a look at how to put this lusciously inviting quick bread together and ready for you to sink your first bite into in under an hour!
