Orange-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ever have a baking experience where nothing goes as expected? That happened to me today when I attempted to alter the recipe for “Orange-Chocolate Chip Muffins”, page 410. Normally I don’t have any complaints, or problems, when tweaking ingredients in a recipe to omit oil or use a different flour. But today things didn’t turn out quite right, and I’m still trying to figure it all out. Before I go any further, let me say this – the end product tastes wonderful! There were no complaints from me or hubby on this count. But, as muffins, they just didn’t come together right. 

At a glance, this seemed an easy enough recipe to work with. The batter was flour, baking powder and baking soda, orange juice, and yogurt, plus oil, which I replaced with applesauce. Stir in chocolate chips, can’t go wrong there, right? And then there is a streusel topping made from flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and orange juice, and again, oil, which I again, replaced with applesauce.

The first thing I noticed was the batter was more like cake batter than muffin batter, i.e., a little thin. I think this thinner batter couldn’t support the weight of the chocolate chips, as they all sunk to the bottom of the muffins. After filling up the 12-cup  muffin tin, I still had a lot of extra batter, which I poured into a small loaf pan and baked along with the muffins. The next thing that wasn’t quite right was the streusel, which actually seemed more like a paste (was this a result of using applesauce instead of oil?). Each muffin was supposed to be “sprinkled” with the streusel, but with the thick consistency, it could only be dolloped, and in any case, I ran out of mixture after the 9^th muffin. This, too, proved to be too heavy for the light batter, and those muffins that had the dollop of streusel caved in quite significantly in the oven. I had to bake the muffins and the bread much longer than 25 minutes, probably due to the batter being so moist. About half the muffins didn’t hold together very well, but happily, the bread did. In retrospect, I think this would have been better baked entirely as a quick bread, based on the consistency of the batter.

So, what happened? Maybe I made too many changes. I subbed out the white flour for whole wheat pastry flour. I used applesauce instead of oil. These two things I always do when I bake, so nothing new here, but you never know. I didn’t have vanilla yogurt, so I used plain yogurt, plus vanilla extract. I added ¼ cup sugar to the batter, since my yogurt was sugar free, and the batter was a bit tart. Maybe all these changes just upset the chemistry. I’m happy to say I didn’t have to throw anything out, and we plan to enjoy the muffins/bread. They may not be perfect to look at, but the flavor of the orange, chocolate, and slightly sweet is very satisfying.

Keeping it “McDougall Friendly” check list (but I can’t say for sure if these changes are viable, since my muffins didn’t come out quite as expected):

• Use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose (white) flour.
• Use applesauce instead of oil.

Carrot Bread with Cranberries & Walnuts

The "Carrot Bread with Cranberries & Walnuts" (page 406) wraps up the section of Quick Breads in the Breads chapter of this book. I do believe this was a case of saving the best for last. I opted to make muffins instead of a loaf, a suggestion in the recipe head notes, and these were among the tastiest muffins I've ever made. Not so long ago, it would have been hard to convince me that a muffin containing no oil, dairy, or white flour could be so tender and moist, but I've been perfecting my skills when adapting recipes to this way of eating, and it's finally paying off. Any baked good containing fruit or vegetables will have a boost when it comes to staying moist, so the carrots and cranberries in this recipe helped with that. Spiced with cinnamon, allspice, and ginger, sweetened with brown sugar, and using applesauce instead of oil, all combined to make these muffins fruity and delicious. I will definitely be making these in the future, both as loaf bread, and as muffins.

Keeping it "McDougall Friendly" checklist:

• Use a nonstick loaf or muffin pan, or if making muffins, line the cups with paper liners.
• Use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose (white) flour.
• Use ½ cup applesauce in place of the 1/3 cup oil.

Sunflower Zucchini Bread

I  have really enjoyed making the quick breads in this cookbook, and feel that I have finally figured out the right combination of ingredients to replace the oil and white flour. My oil-free, whole-grain baked goods are coming out moist and delicious, and the "Sunflower Zucchini Bread" (page 405) is no exception. Any bread that includes fruits or vegetables already gets a head start in the tender and moist department, and is a great way to boost the nutritional value of your baked goods. This is a simple recipe using basic bread batter, with the addition of zucchini and sunflower seeds, and goes together quickly. Because of the extra moisture from the zucchini, this bread bakes a little longer than most to bake, up to an hour, if necessary. Also sweeter than some quick breads (calls for a cup of sugar), I think it would be easy to cut this amount in half and still have delicious results. The 1/2 cup of oil really surprised me - most of the other quick breads in this chapter call for much less, and a couple don't call for any at all - bonus! I left the oil completely out, using a combination of applesauce and mashed banana to equal ½ cup (or a little more, if you think your batter needs it). The sunflower seeds were a nice change (it seems most breads call for walnuts or pecans), subtle, yet distinctive. I enjoyed toasting individual slices of this bread just before eating.

Keeping it "McDougall Friendly" checklist:

• Substitute the canola oil with ½ cup applesauce, mashed banana, or a combination of both.
• Use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose (white) flour.
• Bake the bread in a non-stick loaf pan so you won't have to oil the pan prior to baking.

Orange-Date-Walnut Bread

I was so pleased with the "Orange-Date-Walnut Bread" (page 404), that I have added this one to my list of repeatable quick bread recipes. It is just slightly sweet, which I really appreciate, yet so festive and flavorful it would make a wonderful, fruity bread to make during the winter holidays. Fresh orange juice is the liquid, and since I used applesauce in place of the oil, this further enhanced the fruity flavors. Sweetened with dates and just ¼ cup maple syrup, the underlying flavors, and not sugar, are allowed to take center stage. The recipe suggests using other nuts, if you wish, such as almonds or pecans. I think any of these would be equally good. I added a teaspoon of cinnamon (the combination of ingredients just seemed to be begging for this), which was quite delicious, and filled the kitchen with wonderful cooking aromas.

Keeping it "McDougall Friendly" checklist:

• Substitute the canola oil with ½ cup applesauce.
• Use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose (white) flour.
• Bake the bread in a non-stick loaf pan so you won't have to oil the pan prior to baking.

Quick Herb Bread

"Quick Herb Bread" (page 399) is the first of twelve quick breads (meaning non-yeasted) in the Breads chapter of this book, and the ninth one I've tried so far. I really enjoyed this bread, and found it made especially good toast. Besides the herbs listed in basic recipe (basil, thyme, and marjoram), the recipe suggests using any combination that sounds good to you or complements your meal. I went with the recipe as written, and if I were to change anything, I might increase the amounts of herbs, as the taste was quite subtle to me.  This bread is easy to make, and goes together quickly. Flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour), baking powder and the herbs are mixed with soymilk, and if you followed the recipe exactly, oil as well; I used a scant ½ cup applesauce instead of the olive oil with excellent results.

Keeping it "McDougall Friendly" checklist:

• Use whole wheat pastry flour or spelt flour (a suggestion in the recipe notes) instead of all-purpose (white) flour.
• Substitute applesauce for the oil, about double the amount.

Cornbread

"Cornbread" (page 401) is one of my favorite quick breads. It is a wonderful accompaniment to bean dishes, is lovely warm out of the oven with a drizzle of pure maple syrup, and is a great take-along on hikes when you need a snack to hold you until lunch. Since I switched to oil-free baking, perfecting cornbread has been a challenge, and the end product is often too dry, too crumbly, or both. However, I was happily surprised when this particular recipe yielded a moist and tender loaf that restored my faith in achieving a (more than!) acceptable oil-free cornbread. This is a basic recipe consisting of cornmeal and flour, curdled soymilk (using vinegar to create "buttermilk"), a small amount of sugar, and leavened with baking powder. The recipe also calls for ¼ cup of oil, but I replaced this with ½ cup unsweetened applesauce. I have discovered recently that when replacing the oil with applesauce or banana, more is better. So, if the recipe calls for ¼ cup oil, I'll up the amount of applesauce or banana to ½ cup. This has made a positive difference in the final outcome of my oil-free baking, as well as being careful not to over-bake (something I had not been as attentive to in the past). Try this recipe the oil free way, and see if you don't find it as delicious as I did!

Keeping it "McDougall Friendly" checklist:

• Use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose (white) flour.
• Substitute ½ cup of applesauce for the ¼ cup of oil.

Apple "Waldorf" Bread

The "Apple 'Waldorf' Bread" (page 405) helped restore my faith in oil free baking. After experimenting with the Breakfast Bran Muffins, which came out pretty dry, I was a bit discouraged. But the combination of ingredients in this recipe seemed to provide the magic formula for very moist, oil-free bread. I almost think this bread could be moved to the dessert section of the book, it is rather sweet, but oh-so-delicious! The same ingredients that go into a Waldorf salad (apples, walnuts, and raisins) are found here, and I think including the grated apple really contributed to the extra moist finish. Add to that the use of soymilk (instead of apple juice - the recipe gives the option of one or the other), and using one entire mashed banana to replace the ¼ cup of oil, this may be a formula in the making for future oil free bread adventures. And not to be forgotten, raisins also add some moistness. The batter is spiced up with cinnamon and allspice, the perfect complement to the fruity flavors, with vanilla extract adding to the dessert-like taste of the bread. This bread was delicious warm out of the oven, at room temperature, toasted, and even straight from the refrigerator (if you find you need to store it for more than a few days).

Keeping it "McDougall Friendly" checklist:

• Use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose (white) flour.
• Use the soymilk option for the liquid, as opposed to the apple juice, for a moister outcome.
• Substitute one mashed banana for the ¼ cup oil.

Irish Soda Bread

"Irish Soda Bread with Golden Raisins" (page 400) puts a vegan spin on this traditional St. Patrick's Day treat. Buttermilk is normally used as the liquid, but here soymilk soured with vinegar stands in for the dairy, providing the acidic environment needed to activate the baking soda. This is a free form loaf, rounded by hand on a baking sheet and crisscrossed with a big "X" just before popping in the oven. In the quick bread category, meaning non-yeasted, this hefty loaf is still quite firm and chewy, enough so to use for sandwiches (I found it made the most wonderful bread for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in particular). Just slightly sweet from the two tablespoons of sugar and the golden raisins, this also makes wonderful bread for morning toast. It made a large loaf for just the two of us, but kept well in the refrigerator for the week we had it around.

 

Keeping it "McDougall Friendly" checklist:

 

ü To keep this completely McDougall Friendly, the all-purpose (white) flour should be replaced with whole wheat pastry flour. You might find the loaf a bit too heavy with all whole grain flour, so at the very least, try a 50-50 blend of white flour and whole wheat pastry flour.

Corn Muffins

"Corn Muffins" (page 408) are really nothing more than cornbread in a muffin cup, and make a great accompaniment to most any bean dish. Just a handful of simple ingredients go into these muffins (flour, cornmeal, baking powder, soymilk, sugar, and salt), and they are in the oven in no time at all. The recipe does call for 3 tablespoons of oil, but I omitted that and used ¼ cup apple sauce instead. I opted to line the muffin tin with paper liners rather than oiling the muffin tin. Note: the muffins tend to stick to the paper liners initially, but the longer they sit, the easier the paper peels away.

 

Keeping it "McDougall Friendly" checklist:

 

ü Use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose (white) flour.

ü Omit the oil and use ¼ cup applesauce instead.

ü Use a non-stick tin, or paper liners, rather than oiling the muffin pan.

Whole Wheat Raisin Bread

"Whole Wheat Raisin Bread" (page 394) is a recipe I plan to make again and again. If you find yourself trying to decide which of the yeasted breads to try from this book, I would suggest you try this one first. Made from half whole wheat, half all-purpose (white) flour, sweetened with molasses, and with no added oil, this bread already has a lot going for it nutritionally speaking. But the flavor is what makes it sing! The raisins and cinnamon make this a slightly sweet bread, but not enough to classify as dessert. Since this is a yeasted loaf, plan on at least 3.5 hours to allow for the raising and baking times. This bread makes the most heavenly toast!  

 

Keeping it "McDougall Friendly" checklist:

• You can make this using 100% whole wheat flour with excellent results. If you do, double the kneading time to 10 minutes so the dough gets fully developed.

Basic White Bread

Just recently I decided to try the first of the yeasted breads from this cookbook, the "Basic White Bread" (page 393).  My bread baking days go way back. For years I baked the Basic Whole Wheat Bread recipe from the La Leche League cookbook Whole Foods for the Whole Family, published in the 1980's. From that, I graduated to The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book, which became my bread baking bible for years, and continues to be the last word in whole grain bread baking in my opinion. And although I don't spend a lot of time baking bread from scratch these days, if I do, I will still turn to Laurel's bread book. Once I learned to make a really delightful loaf of 100% whole wheat bread, I found it hard to settle for anything less, so it was difficult for me to accept making this loaf of bread, made from 100% white flour. I decided to compromise, and replaced half of the white flour with whole wheat flour. Technically, this can't be called "Basic White Bread" since I did this, but I couldn't in good conscious do otherwise. I also left out the olive oil, as I have found over the years oil and/or butter is not a necessary ingredient in a homemade loaf of bread.  As the name suggests, this is a very basic recipe, just the very simple ingredients necessary for any loaf of bread: flour, water, yeast, a smidgeon of sugar, and a pinch of salt. If you choose to incorporate whole wheat flour into this loaf, you may want to knead the dough for about 10 minutes instead of 5. Well worth the extra effort! This, like all homemade bread, fills the house with wonderful smells, and tastes like heaven!

"Keeping it McDougall Friendly" checklist:

ü Substitute at least ½ of the all-purpose (white) flour with whole wheat flour (not whole wheat pastry flour, in this case, which doesn't work well in yeasted breads).

ü Omit the olive oil, no substitutions needed.

ü Use a non-stick loaf pan that does not need to be oiled, such as one made of silicone.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Yet another take on traditional banana bread, "Chocolate Chip Banana Bread" (page 402) takes this dessert bread to new heights. With the addition of chocolate chips, it is downright decadent!  A simple quick-bread, there is really nothing tricky about this recipe and you can have it mixed up and ready to bake in the time it takes to preheat the oven. With 3 bananas in the batter, you shouldn't have any problem substituting the canola oil with apple sauce, as I did (I used a scant ½ cup), which turns out to be a good choice, as this recipe also calls for apple juice as part of the liquid ingredients. Chopped walnuts are stirred into the batter with the chocolate chips for additional flavor and chew. The recipe notes say the leftovers make good French toast, but so far I haven't tried this.

 

"Keeping it McDougall Friendly" checklist:

ü Substitute the all-purpose (white) flour with whole wheat pastry flour.

ü Substitute the canola oil with a scant ½ cup of apple sauce.

ü Use a non-stick loaf pan that does not need to be oiled, such as one made of silicone.

Lemon-Drenched Banana-Macadamia Bread

"Lemon-Drenched Banana-Macadamia Bread" (page 403) was an instant hit in our house! Sweet, tart, rich, and satisfying, a little goes a long way and it is the perfect dessert bread sure to please all. It starts out as banana bread, but has elements of a Lemon Jello Cake, something my mother used to make when I was growing up (does anyone else remember this?). What really sets this bread apart from traditional banana bread is the lemon syrup that gets drizzled into the warm loaf after taking it out of the oven (after poking holes in it to catch the syrup). This infusion of flavor makes every bite "a flavor explosion", just like the recipe notes say! The recipe calls for 1/3 cup of oil, but I replaced this with a scant ½ cup of applesauce (one snack size container) and that, along with the bananas, provided plenty of moisture. The macadamia nuts are a nice switch from the walnuts usually found in banana bread, but be aware, they are also a lot higher in fat. I highly recommend this treat for any special occasion.

 

"Keeping it McDougall Friendly" checklist:

 

ü   Replace the 1/3 cup of oil with 1/3 to ½ cup of unsweetened applesauce.

ü    Use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose (white) flour.

ü    Use a non-stick baking pan, one that does not need to be oiled first.

Ginger-Molasses Bread with Blueberries

Recipes for baked goods, even vegan baked goods, typically include oil of some kind: canola oil, coconut oil, even margarines or shortenings. For those of us attempting to avoid all added oil in our diets, the dessert and bread categories can be quite challenging. This cookbook contains 12 recipes for quick beads, and all but one, "Ginger-Molasses Bread with Blueberries" (page 404) contain oil. I wondered briefly if this was an inadvertent omission, but soon enough I just celebrated the fact that the recipe as written was oil free! The unique combination of ingredients does result in an extra moist bread, and is likely the reason no oil was included. Flour, sugar and cornmeal are mixed with a blend of molasses and soured soymilk (to produce a buttermilk effect), ginger provides a mellow zing, and blueberries (fresh, frozen, or dried) add flavor and another level of complexity. This bread was delightful, and quite reminiscent of old-fashioned ginger bread. I was thinking next time I might make a lemon sauce to drizzle on top.

 

"Keeping it McDougall Friendly" checklist:

ü Instead of all-purpose (white) flour, use either whole wheat pastry flour, another whole grain flour, or a blend of whole wheat and white flour.



Cran-Apple Muffins

The "Cran-Apple Muffins" (page 410) are a wonderfully delicious treat, and a perfect muffin to make during the winter holidays.  The inclusion of the cranberries, grated apple, and applesauce provide enough moistness that leaving out the two tablespoons of oil called for in the recipe doesn't make any difference.  (I increased the applesauce called for from ¼ cup to a generous 1/3 cup).  I also substituted whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose flour (white), and instead of oiling the muffin tin, I used muffin tin liners.  These were very easy changes to make, and by doing so, I succeeded in making a tasty and McDougall Plan-friendly muffin I can indulge in guilt free!

Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries

This year for the first time I baked a pumpkin from scratch.  I never saw any reason to do this before as it was so easy to get canned pumpkin in the store, especially when the only ingredient listed on the label is "Pumpkin".  How much more pure can you get?  But for whatever reason in Northern Michigan, where we were staying for five months, the area was suffering from a canned pumpkin shortage.  Couldn't find a can anywhere!  But when the fresh pumpkin harvest came around, there were pumpkins everywhere!  I finally decided I could deal with baking a pumpkin, scraping the flesh out, and pureeing it in a food processor.  I bought a medium sized pumpkin from the Girl Scouts, and ended up with 5 cups of puree.

Today I used one cup of the puree to make "Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries" (p. 402).  A very festive sounding loaf, and very timely, with Halloween just behind us, and Thanksgiving only three weeks away.  After reading through the recipe, I figured out what changes I needed to make to omit any added oil, and keep to using just whole grains.  For awhile now I've been using mashed banana, applesauce, or pureed prunes to replace the fat content in baked goods such as cookies and quick breads.  For this recipe I decided on applesauce, since I had the snack size containers on hand, and I thought the apple flavor would complement the pumpkin, cranberry, and spices (cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg).  Instead of all purpose flour (white), I used whole wheat pastry flour.

The recipe mixed up just right.  The baking time of one hour was perfect.  I used my silicone loaf pan, so I didn't need to use any oil there.  The loaf came out of the pan easily after 15 minutes of cool down time.  The first slices my husband and I tried were still warm out of the oven, and just perfect with a cup of tea! Sweet, moist, and delicate.  We had seconds after it had completely cooled, and it still tasted wonderful.  The "roof" on this loaf seemed to have lifted during the baking, and when slicing it, I had to be careful, but this did not detract whatsoever from my enjoyment of it.  I do wonder, though, if this same thing would have happened if I'd used white flour and oil?  But even if that's the case, I'm glad I kept to my challenge, and I have no complaints about this lovely loaf.