Apple Cider Bread

With Halloween rapidly approaching, I've been contemplating recipes for hot mulled wine and spiced apple cider, which led me to conclude that it's high time I baked something with apple cider! With half a gallon of apple cider poised fortuitously in the fridge, it required only the contented labor of a moment to create a loaf of apple cider bread when I arrived home from work yesterday morning...

Contrary to what the ingredient list might suggest on first glance, dancing with apples and cinnamon, this is definitely a savory quick bread - with no added sweeteners, just a subtle glance of sweetness from the apple cider, and the smokey depth of walnuts and whole wheat flour, a slice of this bread proved to be the paradisiac match for a drizzle of olive oil or a crumble or two of feta cheese... We paired toasted slices of the bread with some leftover Two-Potato Peanut Stew for lunch, and felt we had truly embodied Autumn on a plate...

Apple Cider Bread

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup light, non-hydrogenated vegan margarine or butter

3 eggs

1 cup apple cider

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

~ Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a 9" loaf pan with olive oil cooking spray, followed by a dusting of flour.

~ Beat together the applesauce, vegan marg or butter, eggs, and apple cider until frothy and well blended.

~ Stir in the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until just combined.

~ Fold in the walnuts.

~ Scoop the batter into the loaf pan, and bake for 1 hour - until a knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

~ Serve warm, straight from the oven, or toasted, with butter, vegan marg, olive oil, feta cheese, honey, or any other glorious accompaniment you can imagine...

Giveaway news! Gina of The Candid RD is giving away an incredible collection of yummy goodies from her conference trip to Colorado... One must hurry, though - the giveaway ends at 12PM today, Ohio time! Make haste, make haste! :-)