Foodbuzz

Friday, January 13, 2012

Nokota Sweet Bread

As I was cutting into this sweet bread, I was looking at all the specks of color running through it.  My mind wandered to the lovely speckled horses that the Native Indians used to ride.  Today you may see many paint horses and appaloosas, but nothing like the beautiful speckled Nokota horses.

After searching the net, I found an organization that is devoted to keeping this beautiful and rare breed of horse alive.  It is called the Nokota Horse Conservatory. It is nice to see that there is something out there that supports this magnificent breed that used to roam the Northern Plains.

Now onto this bread recipe!  The bread has a batter that reminds me of a chocolate chip cookie muffin.  However, even though it has chocolate chips and nuts, the inclusion of the shredded apple and cinnamon and nutmeg does make for a very unique taste.  I hardly ever see apples with chocolate in baked goods, but we do see chocolate dipped apples around the Halloween season, so I wanted to try it.  I am glad I did.

The slices turned out moist and tasty.  It makes for a great afternoon snack.  However, if you want to indulge a little bit more, serve with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream on top.

Nokota Sweet Bread
by flourtrader

Ingredients
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of chopped toasted pecans
1 large Granny Smith apple**
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

** 1/16/12-due to one reader's issue with the amount of moisture in this recipe, I will now say that the green Granny Smith apple is the required ingredient.  Other types of apples have a higher moisture content.  I only bake with Granny Smith, so I did not know what the result would have been with another apple, but now I do.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease one 9X5 inch loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper and grease face up side.

Beat egg and egg yolk together until fluffy.  Then beat in the sugar and set aside.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt,  nutmeg and cinnamon.  Then peel the apple and grate in a food processor with a fitted blade.  Your grated apple should yield about one cup.

Stir the apple into the sugar/egg batter.  Then add the vegetable oil, pecans, vanilla and chocolate chips.  Once that is all blended fold in the sifted ingredients until no dry streaks remain.  Pour into prepared loaf pan.

Bake until tester comes out clean.  Mine took about 35 minutes and I used a dark pan, a lighter or glass pan will take a little longer.

Remove pan from oven and let bread cool for about 5 minutes.  Then invert onto rack and turn face up to let cool completely.  Due to its moist texture, the bread should be covered and refrigerated about one hour before slicing.