Maple Cranberry Pecan Bread

This bread is a variation on my theme of tea breads. It has great texture and taste, with the Maple Syrup giving it that very special background flavor. Make sure you use the genuine 100% pure maple syrup. Anything else just wont be as good!

1 cup bread flour

1 cup all purpose flour

¼ cup oatmeal

¼ cup flax meal

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1 Tablespoon Molasses

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

3 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup plain yogurt

1 Tablespoon oil

1 1/4 cup half and half

1 egg

Juice of half a lemon

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 cup chopped cranberries and sour cherries, mixed

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored

Directions

1.      Line the bottom of a standard sized loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour sides.

2.      Place a couple of thin slices of the apple at the bottom of the loaf pan. Dot with about 1 tablespoon of butter and sprinkle some cinnamon over it. Set aside. Finely chop the remainder of the apple and mix with the dried fruit.

3.      Mix all the flours, oatmeal, flax meal, salt, baking powder, soda, and nuts, together in a large bowl.

4.      Gently heat the half and half together with the sugar, chopped fruit and apple, maple syrup, and molasses. Mix until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside and allow to cool.

5.      Whisk the yogurt, and egg together. Mix with the half and half mixture then add the lemon juice. Stir quickly then add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix until just incorporated.

6.      Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about  55-65 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting on a wire rack to cool completely.