Rosh Hashana Apple and Flax Quick Bread

Welcome back to Seduced by Produce!  I apologize for the extended and unexpected absence I took from this blog.  This Summer, my life intervened in the most interesting ways, but that is for my memoirs and not for today.  Today is for celebrating this coming Fall's bounty as well as the upcoming Jewish New Year.

For those of you out there in the blog-o-sphere who haven't yet been told, Rosh Hashana, is quickly coming upon us.  Rosh Hashana, Hebrew for Head or First of the Year, is when Jews around the world celebrate the spiritual New Year.    Should you not be savvy to the Jewish food traditions, allow me to catch you up to speed.  During this time, Jews keep an even closer eye on their food then normal to ensure their food can be a harbinger of things to come.  We eat sweet foods for a sweet year and foods that look or sound like positive things like carrots and lentils since they look like coins.  There's a lot of foods with symbolism, (for more information, check out this link) but suffice to say we Jews adapt to our surroundings, are a superstitious lot and if it tastes good, we find a way to enjoy it often.  We do avoid hot and spicy foods and foods with nuts during this time.  Do you want to have a nutty year?  Didn't think so!

You didn't come to a cooking blog for an education on Judaism, though.  You came here for FOOD, so here you go!

The inner workings of deliciousness

Meet Apple Bread.  She is my new friend.  My family has a tradition of a deep, dark honey cake being served this time of year.  I don't know the recipe, but knowing my maternal Grandmother (Nanny), it was probably Joan Nathan's recipe first.  There is something comforting about a warmly spiced, sweet nosh when shared with family.  Or in my case, being sneaked from Nanny's kitchen behind my Mom's back.  (Sorry, Mom, your parents snuck me a lot of goodies over the years.  Take it up with Pop Pop, but I figure you probably already knew because of those eyes in the back of your head you kept telling me about.)

This is not that cake.  That cake was all sweetness and cinnamon like a true fall dessert made for a munchkin.  This is a lighter and more adult quick bread that incorporates my personal favorite Rosh Hashana food tradition - apples.  Apples dipped in honey are traditionally served the first night of Rosh Hashana and are eagerly awaited by kids and adults alike.  Who doesn't like apples and honey, I mean come on!  I've been known to sneak more than a few slices myself for an impromptu honey tasting.  I'm sure as this blog goes on, you will hear more on my honey obsession.  Today is for the apple.  I was inspired by Brown Eyed Baker's Apple Cinnamon Bread recipe.  Everything I've made from her has rocked my world, but I can't help but tweak as I bake.  I've put my spin on it by using ground flax seeds and mixing in whole wheat flour for a more nutty flavor. If you've never used flax seeds before, they are a great source of fiber and a myriad of other health benefits.  I keep a bag of them ground and in the freezer for an easy nutrition boost.  I've also made it with walnuts which was truly awesome, but not for today.  It's also staying at home, no matter how much my co-workers beg.

Ingredients:

1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup vegan cane sugar (use granulated if that's what is around)
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
2 tablespoons ground walnuts, if using
2 cups peeled and chopped apples (about 1½ to 2 apples)

Topping
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  After greasing a loaf pan, cut parchment paper to fit and then grease the paper too.  This will help ensure the bread can be pulled out neatly later.  Then, peel and chop up apples.  The type of apples do not matter, but something crisp will ensure a more firm bite of apple later.  With apples just coming into season, take your pick of whatever looks delicious and is selling for the cheapest.  They don't need to be perfect squares, but they do need to be reasonably small here. 

Mmmm.....apples......

In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix all of the bread's dry ingredients and set aside.

Jackson Pollack and his paints has nothing on me and my spices.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Use farm fresh if you can, and in the process help out your local farmer while enjoying a superior egg. Add in the oil, applesauce and vanilla and mix until smooth. Make sure you are using unsweetened applesauce.  Next, add the sugar and mix until well-combined.  I'd love to try using honey and then begin trying to cut down the amount of added sweetness overall, say by half, but that is for another day.

Eggy goo, anyone?

Then, add the dry flour and spice mixture to the wet in the mixer in thirds.  Adding the dry mixture in portions allows for full incorporation without creating clumps and helps to avoid over mixing the batter.  Once combined, take the mixer bowl off and then gently fold in the apples into the batter making sure to incorporate them fully. 

Apples = Fruit gold!

Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the loaf pan.

Sugar, cinnamon and apples are never wrong.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the loaf is golden and a thin knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  I use a piece of dried linguine instead, to make a smaller hole in the crust.

Cool the bread in the pan and on your cooling rack for 10 minutes, then and turn it out on a cooling rack, remove the parchment paper. Cool completely before slicing, if you can. The smell of this bread is intoxicating.  If someone made this into a perfume, it'd be dangerous.  Making this transports your home instantly into fall.  It's much better than an apple cinnamon air freshener.

 
Wrap leftover loaf in plastic wrap and store at room temperature.  If you manage to have leftovers, that is.  I made a walnut-enriched version of this quick bread for a recent training, and not a crumb was left.  I baked it the day before and it held up incredibly well.  I'm not entirely convinced that it was even better the next day, but I don't think it will last that long without serious planning including hiding the baked goods out of sight.