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Apple and cinnamon bread
My favourite fruit this time of year is the fuji
apple. They are wonderfully sweet and juicy
to eat, so they are the perfect ingredient to
make my purely delicious apple and cinnamon
bread. This no fuss, one-bowl bread can be
easily whipped up in around 10 minutes. Your
whole kitchen will smell amazing when it’s
being baked as the cinnamon apple aroma
floats through the air. There is no need to
add any sugar as the apple provides a subtle
sweetness that can marry with lots of toppings,
both sweet and savoury: my favourites
are macadamia nut butter, tahini or a generous
spread of deli style ricotta. Macadamia nut oil
adds a lovely buttery flavour which I love – but
you can also use olive oil, butter or coconut
oil. This bread can keep for a good week in
your fridge.
What’s great about it?
Apples contain around 5g of fibre (of both the
soluble and insoluble varieties), which is great
for your digestive system. The soluble fibre
is known as pectin, which has the power to
help lower cholesterol, keep you regular and
stabilise blood sugar, as well as decrease the
appetite and fill you up for hours. Spelt is an
ancient grain that is related to wheat, but has
a lower gluten content so it’s kinder to the
digestive system. Spelt is also a good source
of protein and has around 20 per cent more
protein and up to 65 per cent more amino
acids than traditional wheat flours. A touch
of cinnamon has the power to help your body
metabolise sugar and reduce insulin levels.
Serves: 14
Ingredients
450g (3 cups) grated fuji apple (or other sweet
apple of your choice)
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
3 organic free range eggs (see Inspiration for
vegan option)
¼ cup (60ml) macadamia nut oil (or your
choice of coconut oil, olive oil, butter)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
2 cups (260g) wholemeal spelt flour (see
Inspiration on gluten free)
Preheat oven to 180oC. Combine apple,
baking powder, salt, eggs, oil, cinnamon and
vanilla into a bowl and mix well. I love using my
hands for this to make sure all the ingredients
gets around the grated apple. It’s important
to remember that the sweetness comes from
the raw grated apple which produces a lovely
wholegrain bread that is only slightly sweet
and purely delicious, so don’t be tempted to
add extra sugar. Add the wholemeal spelt flour
and mix through lightly, just until it’s combined.
As an optional extra, you may choose to fold
through half a cup of chopped walnuts. Line a
loaf tin with baking paper at the base and the
sides (10½cm wide by 26cm long work well.)
Spoon mixture into the loaf tin. At this stage
you can choose to bake as is or garnish your
bread with sliced apple and a little cinnamon
or coconut sugar that will create a lovely
caramelised flavour over the top of the apple.
Bake for 1 hour or until an inserted skewer
comes out clean. Times may vary, so
check after 45 minutes and cover with foil if
necessary. Remove from the oven and allow
to cool for 1 hour before removing from the
tin. Enjoy alone or topped with macadamia
nut or almond butter, or deli style ricotta and
roasted figs.
Inspiration
For a vegan option, omit eggs and add 60ml
(1/4 cup) of your choice of milk (almond, rice,
oat, coconut) and 2 tablespoons of chia
seeds. The vegan option is a much denser
style of bread, and has less volume than the
version with eggs.
For a gluten free option, use 200g (2 cups) of
almond meal/ground almonds in place of the
spelt flour and use gluten free baking powder
or ½ teaspoon bicarb soda and 2 tablespoons
lemon juice.
Teresa Cutter, aka The Healthy Chef, is one of Australia’s leading authorities on healthy cooking and the author of the Purely Delicious recipe book. A
chef, nutritionist and fitness professional, she combines her knowledge of food, diet and exercise to develop delicious recipes that maximise health and
wellbein ˰