I do know it's going to happen. One day, I'll make one of the straightforward, well-written, appealing, not-overly-tofu-ey recipes from this book and it won't be very good. It won't slip into my recipe binder as quickly as this corn bread or this other tea bread or this simple side dish did. If that sad day comes, it'll be okay ... I'm sure it will be an isolated incident. :)
What I like best about this recipe {besides its very good texture and flavor :) } is that during the fall and winter, anyway, I would almost always have all of the ingredients -- except the cider -- on hand. It's also nice to {finally} find another applesauce bread/cake that I really like. That has seemed hard, somehow. The America's Test Kitchen/The Way The Cookie Crumbles one is still {and will probably always be} the best one I've ever tasted, but this one has its own spot beside it. {P.S: Both the flavor and texture are even better -- richer, moister, smoother -- after the bread has sat, cooled and well-wrapped, overnight.}
Spiced Applesauce Bread
adapted from Vegetarian Classics, by Jeanne Lemlin
for one 9x5 inch loaf
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger {a little less, for me, than the 1 teaspoon in the original recipe}
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 teaspoon salt
two large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup apple cider
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan{or just spray it with nonstick cooking spray}.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, nuts and salt. In a separate, medium-sized bowl {a 4-cup glass measuring cup worked well} whisk together the eggs, canola oil, applesauce and cider until well combined. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir until evenly moistened. {If you're using your electric mixer, mix at low speed, then use a rubber spatula to make sure the dry ingredients at the bottom of the bowl are incorporated.}
Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake the bread for 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let the bread cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. For the neatest presentation, let the bread cool completely, for about two hours, before slicing, but for the best treat, try to eat at least one slice, even if it crumbles a little, while it's still warm.