Eggless Applesauce - Oatmeal Bread

This applesauce based bread is one delicious, moist and flavor filled one that can be served as a breakfast or brunch item or even as a dessert if you ask me. Even after cutting the sugar by half from the original recipe, this quick bread tastes really awesome and is filled with the goodness of oats, wheat, apple, dry fruits and nuts. I got to clear one more bookmarked recipe from KAF with this bread and it was rich and yummy even after making substitutions and omissions to suit my preferences. 

Ingredients:
2 flax eggs*
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole white wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt 
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon*
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 cup sugar*
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1.5 tsp. vanilla or boiled cider
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce* 
1/2 cup chopped walnuts*

* The changes I made:
I substituted eggs with flax eggs. 
The original recipe used a cup of sugar. I used half of it and it was still perfectly on the sweet side.
I substituted all purpose flour for wheat flour.
The original recipe has 1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg as well which I left out.
I used homemade applesauce that was prepared with about 3 apples and increased it's quantity from 3/4 to 1 cup.
I added  sweetened dried cranberries and raisins along with walnuts.


Directions:
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Lightly grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. (The specified loaf pan is bigger for this bread and the loaf filled about 2/3rd of the pan.)
* Combine 2 tbsp. flaxmeal and 6 tbsp. warm water in a mixing bowl and keep it aside for about five minutes. Then add sugar, oil and vanilla to the flax eggs and mix well.
* Combine flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder. cinnamon, all spice, and nutmeg (if using) in another bowl. 
* Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix in the rolled oats, applesauce and walnuts. 
* Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake it until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes.
* Remove the bread from the oven and let cool.
* The bread can be stored well wrapped at room temperature for few days or can be frozen for later use.

It goes to Bakeathon  and Blogging Marathon events.


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Dutch Hagelslag & Bread

Here is a quick breakfast / treat from Netherlands with hagelslag aka a 'hailstorm' of Dutch sprinkles on buttered bread. I have been making these sprinkles n' bread for my daughter ever since I came across the Australian version, fairy bread. While fairy bread is considered a kids' treat, this bread with hagelsag is commonly eaten in Netherlands by all ages and is a popular one. Dutch hagelsag (sprinkles) were invented in 1936 by a Dutch company named Venz which became popular because of it. They created the first machine to produce the tiny cylindrical shaped treats and named them after their resemblance to a local weather phenomenon of hail. All sprinkles seem to not qualify for being called hagelsag. Only those sprinkles with cacao percentage of more 32% can bear the name chocolade hagelslag. Nowadays hagelslag comes in all shapes, sizes and flavors. 

A good quality chocolate sprinkles should do for those who don't have access to the original deal. All one needs to make this treat are some bread slices, good quality butter and sprinkles. One can use the white bread or the brown one. (They can be toasted if preferred.) Slather the bread slices with softened butter generously and sprinkle on hagelslag. 

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Koulouri - Greek Bread Rings

I came across this fabulous source of Greek recipes when I went looking for the same and ended up bookmarking many to try later. These koulouri are one of those precious finds which happen to be the delicious Greek bread rings studded with sesame seeds. Though the sesame seeds' version is the traditional one, there seem to be also versions of stuffed ones with cheese or nutella. They are supposedly a staple treat sold by bakeries and street vendors in Greece, especially in the mornings and would go great with a cup of coffee. They are crunchy outside and softer inside, fresh from the oven. But they turn harder after sitting for a while though I liked them either way. They were simple to make and were so irresistible that I ended up eating them all by myself.

Ingredients: (Yield about 20 koulouri)

1 cup flour

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. warm water

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. yeast (I used active dry yeast)

2 tsp. olive oil

1/4 cup white sesame seeds 

Method:

* Add sugar, active dry yeast and warm water to a mixing bowl. Stir and leave the mixture aside until it turns frothy. Then add flour, salt and oil to the yeast mixture and mix to combine. 

(If using instant yeast, there is no need for yeast proofing. Add all the ingredients except the sesame seeds to the mixing bowl and work the dough.)

* Knead the dough for about 10 minutes and place it in a greased bowl.  Cover and let the dough rest until it doubles in size.

* Preheat the oven to 425 deg F / 220 deg C.

* Flour the working surface if needed and roll out the dough ball into a rectangle of about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness.

* Then cut the rectangle lengthwise in about 1/2 to 3/4 inch strips. Cut those strips into 3/4 inch pieces.
 
* Roll each piece into a string. Brush it with water and connect both ends to form a ring. Roll the wet ring in sesame seeds. Place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Repeat the steps with the remaining dough pieces.

* Bake them until golden brown, about 10 - 12 minutes.
 
This goes to Blogging marathon #76, under the theme 'Greek Recipes'. Check out the page to read what other marathoners are cooking.

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