We used to go to the mountains in the Autumn each year. We lived in Florida and longed to see the Autumn colors and feel the cooler air. We found an apple orchard that also had a bakery. They sold apple cakes and muffins. I decided to try and make an apple loaf like theirs. I am not sure if it is like theirs or not, but it turned out delicious!! I had to tweak things as I mixed, but the recipe will reflect what I ended up doing.
This loaf uses soured milk. You can use buttermilk or kefir, but if you don’t have either, then be sure to look at the note at the bottom on how to sour milk for a recipe. You will need to do that as the very first thing to make sure it is soured by the time you use it.
I also used Spelt instead of wheat flour for this. I have noticed when using Spelt that you have to cut back on the liquid. If you are going to use wheat flour, I would increase milk to 1 cup.
You need 3 bowls for this. First you mix up the crumb topping and set it aside.
Then you mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and lastly, the wet ingredients in their own bowl.
I used fresh nutmeg and a nutmeg grinder. You will find that you get a fresher flavor using it this way. It is worth the small effort to do this.
Here is the recipe. If you have any questions, ask away!!
Farmhouse Apple Loaf
Makes a regular size loaf and a mini loaf. You can share the little loaf with a friend or in our case, we will keep the little one and share the larger one with friends.
* First off sour the milk and let sit while you make the rest.
Topping
- 1/2 cup Spelt Flour (may have to add a bit more to get crumbly texture)
- 1/2 cup Sucanat
- 1 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Butter, melted
Loaf
- 2 1/2 cups Spelt Flour **
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 1/4 cups Sucanat
- 2/3 cup Coconut Oil
- 1 Egg, Farm Fresh of course
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla (I used homemade bourbon vanilla)
- 3/4 cup Milk, Soured or use Buttermilk or Kefir
- 2 to 3 Apples, peeled and cubed
- 1/2 cup Walnuts, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease your loaf pans (1 regular, 1 small).
In a small bowl, mix the flour, Sucanat, cinnamon and butter for the topping and set aside.
In a larger bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together.
Mix the Sucanat, coconut oil, egg and vanilla in another bowl until it is smooth.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and then add the soured milk until combined well, without over mixing them. Slowly stir in the cubed apples and walnuts. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pans and then sprinkle the topping evenly over the top.
Bake for 45 minutes and take the little one out, then go another 10 to 15 minutes with the larger one until the center appears done.
*(to sour put 1 tsp. vinegar in milk and let sit)
** When using another flour, you may need to increase the milk to 1 cup.
