Breakfast Loaves + Quickbreads

maple oatmeal bread with cacao nibs and raspberry cream cheese

 
Lately I’ve been rocking a well-worn copy of Molly Katzen‘s The Enchanted Broccoli Forest. I’ve loved this cookbook for a long time; it was a staple at my beloved Blue Heron Coffeehouse, and Larry and Colleen were frequently seen thumbing through it, shocking the sleepy town of Winona with Chinese mushroom soup and eggplant salads and all kinds of other goodness that were found handwritten on it’s beautiful pages.
And there was this bread one day, one crisp fall day when Adam and I were off again and most my grades were off again, and I had skipped another lecture and there were piles of homework in my dirty red back pack. I stopped in for lunch before my work shift, and scrawled on the hanging chalkboard under ‘soup of the day’ was ‘creamy zucchini’ and ‘maple oatmeal bread’. I don’t know if they were meant to be together, but they both sounded so good that I ate them together anyway and went back for seconds. And I had never had creamy zucchini soup or maple oatmeal bread, but that first taste is forever etched in my mind; Me: greedily hunched over a well-used cream-colored bowl, eating my bread and soup and feeling comfort for the first time in weeks. I will never forget those flavors on my tongue and how warm they were to my belly; the maple and oatmeal and cream and zucchini relieving my heartache for a few precious moments. Each bite held kind voices, my sister’s laugh, the tall oak trees that watched over me as a child. When my bowl was empty I took it in the back, and there, as my shift was starting, I couldn’t bring myself to wash it.

Maple Oatmeal Bread with Cacao Nibs
adapted from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest

The original recipe is slightly different – it did not have cacao nibs, but I’ve found them to be a wonderful addition. You could omit them, or add pecans instead. If you want to use whole wheat flour in this recipe, you can substitute 1 cup of the all purpose for 1 cup of whole wheat. This bread is very very dense and doesn’t rise much. The raspberry cream cheese can be omitted, but of course, it’s terribly delicious. I was inspired to add raspberries to the mix after seeing a raspberry-cacao nib tart on Pinterest.

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cacao nibs
2 eggs
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 tablespoons melted butter, cooled slightly
1 tablespoon maple syrup, for brushing
rolled oats, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 8 x 4 inch bread pan.

Whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cacao nibs. Set aside.
In a standing mixer, beat the eggs until lightly beaten. Add the maple syrup, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted butter. Add the flour mixture and beat on low until combined. Turn into the prepared loaf pan and bake 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool ten minutes, then removed bread from pan and place on a wire rack. Lightly brush the top of the warm bread with 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and sprinkle with oats. Serve with raspberry cream cheese if desired.
 
Raspberry Cream Cheese
 
3 ounces cream cheese, soft
1/3 cup raspberries, crushed
1 tablespoon maple syrup [more or less to taste]
 
Mix all three ingredients together with a fork, whisk, or mixer.
  • Reply
    B
    Sunday, May 7, 2017 at 12:41 pm

    This bread is so uplifting and gentle in its sweetness. Made it twice now for its go-to comfort. Thank you.

  • Reply
    Caroline Franco
    Tuesday, November 8, 2016 at 6:58 pm

    Could I possibly use all whole wheat flour in this recipe and replace the ghee with coconut oil? What do you think will happen? Looks like an incredibly amazing recipe!

  • Reply
    Anonymous
    Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 2:01 pm

    I used the raspberry cream cheese on baguettes that Sarah made last night. Be jealous. It was so good.
    -A

  • Reply
    Laura
    Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 12:32 pm

    Food = so much power. This is proof. Lovingly retold proof. You are the best and that smear of HOT PINK RASPBERRY CREAM CHEESE?! Guh. Sighed with joy at the very sight.

    xo

  • Reply
    Heidi @foodiecrush
    Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 6:54 pm

    Anything with cocoa and I’m there. So it’s more of a dessert bread right? You say it’s pretty dense so not for sandwiches but with a mug of coffee? Looks so good.

    • Reply
      vanilla bean blog
      Friday, September 21, 2012 at 9:17 pm

      Thanks, Heidi, and yes – more for snacking than sandwiches. I’ve been eating it for breakfast.

  • Reply
    Eileen
    Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 5:54 pm

    This cake looks amazing–especially with that cream cheese! SO PINK. 🙂

  • Reply
    Kasey
    Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 3:45 pm

    What a lovely memory! It made me yearn for fall, for some reason. I love the bright pink color of the spread and I’m dying to try this bread now!

    • Reply
      vanilla bean blog
      Friday, September 21, 2012 at 9:16 pm

      Thanks Kasey. I always love the feeling fall brings.

  • Reply
    Colleen @ B.H.
    Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 3:17 pm

    I remember that day. Your reaction to my menu choices inspired me to try lots of different things.

    • Reply
      vanilla bean blog
      Friday, September 21, 2012 at 9:16 pm

      Oh Colleen! So happy to see your comment here. I still gush about that soup. I tried to recreate it this summer, but it didn’t come close.

  • Reply
    Melody
    Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 1:56 pm

    I love this so much. Beautiful. Just beautiful.

  • Reply
    thelittleloaf
    Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 1:54 pm

    All those ingredients just sound divine so I can imagine the finished product tastes as beautiful as your photos look 🙂

  • Reply
    london bakes
    Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 10:31 am

    I love the memories that this loaf evokes for you; I can picture you sitting there so clearly and totally in love with the flavours here.

    • Reply
      vanilla bean blog
      Friday, September 21, 2012 at 9:15 pm

      Thanks Kathryn. It is still such a clear memory.

  • Reply
    Ashlae
    Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 4:07 am

    What a beautiful loaf of bread, lady! Loving the maple + oat + cacao combo.

  • Reply
    la domestique
    Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 3:34 am

    I like a nice hearty loaf with rolled oats, and have never added cacao nibs. It might be fun to try something new.

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