Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread

August 22, 2007

Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread

From The NY Times

Time: About 1 1/4 hours

Oil or butter for greasing pan
1 2/3 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt, or 1 1/2 cups milk and 2 tablespoons white vinegar (see Step 2)
2 1/2 cups (about 12 ounces) whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup molasses.

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-by-4-inch or 9-by 5-inch loaf pan, preferably nonstick.

2. If using buttermilk or yogurt, ignore this step. Make soured milk: warm milk gently — 1 minute in the microwave is sufficient, just enough to take the chill off — and add vinegar. Set aside.

3. Mix together dry ingredients. Stir molasses into buttermilk, yogurt or soured milk. Stir liquid into dry ingredients (just enough to combine) then pour into loaf pan. Bake until firm and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan.

Yield: 1 loaf.

Lighter Whole Wheat Quick Bread: Use 1 1/2 cups whole wheat and 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; omit cornmeal. Substitute honey for molasses. Beat 1 egg into wet ingredients in Step 3. Proceed with recipe.

Tip for corn meal:
Mary Ann Clark, Tucson CSA

I save the unpopped corn kernels from when I’ve made popcorn. I
put them in a tin in the refrigerator and when I have about a cup or more, I place them in a grinder and grind them as fine as I can. This is what I use for cornmeal when I bake. If your don’t eat a lot of popcorn it may take you awhile to accumulate enough kernels. But it makes great cornmeal that has more of a roasted flavor.