This delicious, moist apple bread with almonds, nuts, cranberries, apple juice, and apricots can be served either for breakfast, with tea, or as a snack.
Preparation on the previous day
Wash and core the apples and then either coarsely grate or cut into thin matchsticks.
You can also grate the apples and the nuts (in the next step), and then the dried fruit separately using a shredder or food processor. This is simpler than using a knife and although you will have to clean the appliance, it will still be quicker.
Chop the almonds and nuts using a knife, shredder, or food processor.
Then chop the dried apricots and cranberries using one of the above methods.
The original recipe calls for cranberries (50 grams for two loaves) and raisins (70 grams).
Add the prepared ingredients to a large bowl and combine with the agave syrup, cinnamon, cloves, cocoa powder, and apple juice. Place covered in the refrigerator and let the flavors meld overnight.
Instead of agave syrup, the authors use raw cane sugar (80 grams for two loaves).
Finish the apple bread
The next day, preheat the baking oven to 150–160 °C.
Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder, add to the other ingredients, and knead well until the dough holds together well.
You can add some flour if the dough is too sticky.
Divide the dough into two bread loaves (wet your hands before you shape the loaves) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake in a preheated oven for about 1½ hours. Let the Apple Bread with Nuts and Cranberries cool on a kitchen rack and then serve.
Detailed Nutritional Information per Person for this Recipe
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
This delicious, moist apple bread with almonds, nuts, cranberries, apple juice, and apricots can be served either for breakfast, with tea, or as a snack.
Spelt flour: Spelt, a dinkel wheat, is related to wheat and as such is a grain that contains gluten. Although much information claims that those with a wheat allergy will be better able to tolerate spelt, individuals with celiac disease should avoid spelt to the same extent as they would wheat. There are certain differences between spelt and wheat when it comes to amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, but it is questionable whether these small differences have any significant effect, especially when we consider the amounts of wheat consumed today. However, as compared to wheat, spelt does contain much higher levels of silica.
Almonds and nuts: Despite their high fat content, almonds and nuts are very healthy as they contain many healthy unsaturated fatty acids.
Dried fruit is often treated with sulfur dioxide: Treating dried fruit with sulfur dioxide has two distinct advantages for large-scale industrial producers. First, the sulfur dioxide layer helps to prevent spoiling as it inhibits the metabolism of many microorganisms and in this way increases the shelf life of the product. And second, it allows the fruit to maintain its original color. The latter occurs thanks to the fact that sulfur dioxide inhibits enzymes that promote oxidation. This makes the fruit look more attractive for consumers, but in general we advise against purchasing and consuming dried fruit that has been treated. The preservation process destroys several vitamins, such as folic acid, and sulfur dioxide can be harmful for people with asthma or allergies.
Weinstein baking powder: Like ordinary baking powder, weinstein baking powder is a raising agent used in baking. It causes carbon dioxide (CO2) to form when water, acid, and heat interact. The release of carbon dioxide gives the dough a lighter texture and causes it to expand. Both types of baking powder are a mixture of a leavening agent, a weak acid, and a bulking agent (usually a starch). Thanks to the bulking agent, the leavening agent only reacts with the acid when the conditions are desirable and in this way CO2 is produced. In both versions, baking soda is the source of the carbon dioxide, but the difference is that weinstein baking powder contains the acid cream of tartar and does not contain any phosphate.Cream of tartar is a by-product in the wine-making process that is obtained from the crystalline deposits found inside wine barrels. It is therefore a natural alternative to ordinary baking powder and it doesn’t act until it is heated in the oven. The effect is the same as conventional baking powder containing phosphate. Manufacturers of weinstein baking powder claim that it results in milder-tasting baked goods, but we were not able to confirm this in a blind test.
Tips
Substitute for apple juice: If you don’t have any apple juice on hand and don’t want to get a second appliance dirty, you can just as well purée a small peeled apple in a shredder and use this in place of the juice.
Alternate preparation
Alternative ingredients: The author Daniela Friedl uses raw cane sugar in the original recipe, which we have replaced with agave syrup. If you prefer, you can use the raw cane sugar or honey. However, strictly speaking honey isn’t vegan. The spelt flour can be replaced with whole grain spelt flour or whole wheat flour and instead of raisins, we have used cranberries (and increased the amount). The slightly sour taste of cranberries pairs well with the other sweet ingredients and makes this bread especially delicious.
