My Kitchen Clatter

Real Food - Real Life

Applesauce Cake

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This is a quick, simple cake that is great for using up the bottom of a jar of applesauce. My grandma used to make applesauce cake and while this isn’t her exact recipe, it does stir up fond memories. My favorite part of this cake is how the top turns into a crunchy layer while the cake is soft.

Applesauce Cake
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 16
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup of softened butter
  • 1 cup of brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 t vanilla
  • 2 1/4 cups of flour – freshly milled whole wheat flour is the best!
  • 2 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 2 t cinnamon
  • 1/2 t nutmeg
  • 2 cups of applesauce, unsweetened
  • 1 cup of chopped walnuts
  • 2 T sugar, for topping
  • 1/2 t cinnamon, for topping
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or oil bottom and sides of 8×8 cake pan.
  2. Beat butter in the bowl of your stand mixer using cake whisks. Add sugar and beat until combined. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes.
  3. Combine dry ingredients (flour through nutmeg) in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
  4. Add dry ingredients alternately with applesauce to the butter mixture. Scrape bowl between additions.
  5. Stir in chopped walnuts.
  6. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  7. Combine 2 T sugar and 1/2 t cinnamon and sprinkle over top of cake.
  8. Bake 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees or until a toothpick in the center comes clean.
  9. Let cool in pan before serving. We like to eat it a little warm.

 

My Thoughts on Flour

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I’ve been meaning to put this article out here for a while. These are just my personal opinions on flour and food. I make no claims to know what is really affecting so many people’s bodies. Is it gluten? Or is it too much sugar? Too much processing? Too many chemicals? Or a combination of all of these things?
I don’t really know the correct answer – and honestly, I don’t think anyone really does. But, like most people, I have some thoughts on the subject. And once in a while someone asks me why I mill my own flour. People might be aware that white flour isn’t that great for us, but they wonder if there is really much difference between store bought and freshly ground whole wheat flour. And honestly, when I was first introduced to the concept of flour milling, I wasn’t sold on the idea that it was so much healthy. But it didn’t take long for me to be convinced. All I had to do was make a loaf of bread using the freshly milled flour and I was converted. The dough was softer than any dough I’d made using whole wheat flour. And the bread tasted fabulous.
I think that because we don’t hear about flour milling very often that people assume it must be something that is difficult or time consuming. If you’ve been to one of my classes, you already know that it’s neither of those things. If you grind your coffee beans most mornings, then you are already exerting the same amount of effort as I do when I grind flour. So, it’s not hard. And as a mother of four who occasionally fits in a little civil engineering on the side, I honestly don’t have time for anything that adds an extra challenge. But I do make time for things that I feel make a difference to the quality of my family’s food and health – and flour is one of the easiest places I’ve found to make a difference. Plus baking your own bread is a rewarding and relaxing experience in its own right.

Before wheat berries are ground into flour, they can be considered a live food. If they are exposed to moisture, they will sprout and germinate. When they are ground into flour, they immediately begin to oxidize. And just like your coffee beans, the flour will taste better when it is freshly ground. Oxidation also affects the vitamin and nutrient levels in the flour. Most of the vitamins and nutrients are contained in the wheat germ. There is also Vitamin E oil in the wheat germ. Over time, the Vitamin E oil eventually will go rancid in whole wheat flours. If you have ever had whole wheat flour that tastes bitter, it is likely it’s been sitting on the shelf too long. This is one of the reasons that white flour became so popular for mass production – it has the germ removed for shelf stability, but removing the germ also removes the vitamins and nutrients from the flour. White flour also has the bran removed, which contains fiber and helps with digestion. All of this processing means that white flour barely resembles the original whole wheat flour made directly from wheat berries.

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Source for image: http://wbc.agr.mt.gov/wbc/Consumer/Diagram_kernel/

I can go on and on about the flour. But really, in the end, you should decide for yourself. Here’s some ideas to start:

  • Do some research on processed flour. While it can be hard to find clear, non-biased articles, try this one on WebMD as a start and then try googling processed flour. You’ll find that flour is one of the most processed foods in our grocery stores.
  • Take one of my classes or find a local class on whole grain baking. You’ll learn something new and get lots of samples. Try this link through Bosch Kitchen Centers to locate other demonstrators who teach milling and whole grains.
  • Bake your favorite recipe using freshly milled whole grain flour and see if you don’t love it.

 

Whole Wheat Bread (small batch)

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This is essentially the same recipe that I teach in my bread classes, but it is adjusted for a smaller capacity mixer than the Bosch Universal or Ankarsrum.

The real trick to making this 100% whole grain bread work is high quality whole grain flour. If you’ve read much of my site, you know I use home milled flours most of the time. If you aren’t home milling and only have access to store bought flour, make sure to buy high quality whole grain flour – brands such as King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill will work well. Another option is to source locally grown and milled flours. Check out what is at your local food co-op or order from a local farm. My favorite farm here in Illinois is Janie’s Mill. Check them out and let me know what you think!

This recipe will give you a soft, beautiful loaf – just perfect for sandwiches.  And so much more nutritious than anything you can get from the store.  Enjoy!

Whole Grain Sandwich Bread Small Batch
Recipe Type: Bread
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Rising time: 1-2 hours
Cook time:
Total time: 2 to 3 hours
Serves: 2 loaves
This is my favorite sandwich bread, downsized to two loaves. If you have a high capacity mixer, you might be interested in the large batch recipe. For the rest of us, I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of warm water (bath tub temp)
  • 1/4 cup of honey
  • 1/4 cup of coconut or olive oil
  • 2 t salt
  • 2 t instant yeast
  • 1/2 cup of white flour
  • 6 cups of whole wheat flour, approximate – freshly milled is best
Instructions
  1. Combine water, honey and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer.
  2. Add white flour and 2 and 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour and stir till combined.
  3. Stir in 1 more cup of the flour.
  4. With machine running, add all but 1/2 cup of the remaining flour until the dough is soft and not too sticky. Do not add add all of the whole wheat flour at this step. It should just form a ball and can be a little sticky. You’ll get another chance to add flour in step 6. Flour, especially whole grain flour, can absorb a lot of water during the bread making process.
  5. Cover and allow wet dough to rest for 10 minutes. This allows the flour to hydrate.
  6. Turn your mixer on and add salt and yeast to the dough. Check the dough consistency now. If it is still a little wet and isn’t forming a nice soft ball, then add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. It should form a soft ball and press in easily with your finger. The softer the dough at this point, the nicer your final loaf of bread will be.
  7. Knead for about 10-12 minutes on the lowest mixer setting, until the dough is smooth and passes the window pane test. Be advised that the window pane test is tougher to achieve with whole grain breads, so if you come close, call it a good day.
  8. Place the dough in an oiled pan and let rise, covered, until about doubled in size. This rise will take about one hour.
  9. Gently deflate dough and shape into two loaves (8.5 x 4 pans work best for whole grain breads), oil tops of loaves with a small amount of olive oil or cover gently with a towel.
  10. Let rise a second time until the dough is about 1 inch above the lip of the pan. Depending on kitchen conditions – this rise will take about 30-45 minutes. To tell if your bread has risen enough, try the “poke test” – when you think it has risen enough, gently press your finger about 1 inch down into the bread – the bread should feel soft and the indent will most remain. That is when the bread is ready.
  11. About 15 minutes before you are going to bake, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  12. When the bread is ready for the oven, lower the temp down to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown.
  13. Remove loaves from pans immediately and cool on a cooling rack.