Buckwheat Spice Bread

 

Buckwheat has become my latest passion since it has a number of health benefits. It's not strictly a cereal grain but is used like one. Most people are familiar with Buckwheat Pancakes, and in Russia and the Ukraine, the groats are boiled to make a cooked cereal like oats. This bread is highly spiced with tropical flavors (ginger, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon), and goes well by itself, buttered or topped with stewed fruit. It is a very dense bread, almost like a pudding.....so, it's not a light, fluffy bread or cake! The slices remain moist for 2-3 days when stored in an airtight container. The end flavor is  one with tropical flavors in the background and the earthy taste of the buckwheat shining through! The slices may be wrapped and frozen. If you have no sodium restrictions, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the dry ingredients.

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup buckwheat flour (I grind toasted buckwheat groats in a spice mill to make the flour, but it can be bought already ground as flour)

¼ cup arrowroot flour (you could also use Tapioca or Corn Starch, but I prefer Arrowroot for the consistency it produces)

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons Honey (Buckwheat if you can get it)

1 teaspoon low sodium baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups (about 2 medium) finely shredded granny smith apples (or any variety you have available, Cored, and peeled, if desired. I use it unpeeled) mixed with juice and zest of 1 lemon, and the grated ginger root

2 Tablespoons thick cut, old-fashioned rolled oats

2 Tablespoons fresh or dried Blueberries

 

 

 

1.      Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a  9×5-inch loaf  with parchment paper, and grease and flour sides

2.      In a large bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and spices

3.     In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, oil, honey, vanilla and add the finely shredded apples and lemon juice.

4.     Add to flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just blended. The batter will be very thick….it’s a bread, not a cake!

5.     Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the oats and blueberries over the top, pressing the berries and flakes lightly into the batter

6.     Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 20 minutes in pan before inverting on to a wire rack. Remove loaf and cool completely before slicing.

Apple Oatmeal Breakfast Bar (low sodium)

 

This is a low sodium apple oatmeal breakfast bar/snack cake that you can eat for breakfast or any time of the day. It's also a great coffee cake. I have used a variety of oat products so it's very dense and filling. The steel cut oats give it a nice chewy texture and you can use any combination of spices that you like e.g orange zest, ginger, cardamom etc. The good thing is that it's not too sweet so you can top it with stewed or fresh fruit in season. The juice or liquid from the stewed fruit will be soaked up by the breakfast square and that makes it become moist like a pudding!

If I freeze the squares, I usually take them out of the freezer the night before and let them thaw out in the refrigerator. The next morning, I wrap the square in a damp paper towel and warm it up gently in the microwave using low power. 

Variations: If you don't like the gritty feel of steel cut oats, soak them beforehand in some hot water for about 30 minutes. Drain the liquid through a strainer If this variation is selected, the baking time may be prolonged by an extra 5-7 minutes) and the consistency of the final product is more like baked oatmeal, not like a "cake". In addition to the apples, you can sprinkle a few blueberries on top of the mixture in the pan.

Juice and zest of 1/2 a large lemon may also be added to the apple juice mixture is you like a slightly tart taste to the oatmeal.

1 cup old-fashioned oats

½ cup steel cut oats

½ cup oat bran

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon low sodium baking powder

1 cup unsweetened apple juice

½ cup half and half

3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey or a mixture of both

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 Granny Smith apple, seeded, and peeled, cut into cubes.

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

 

1.     Line the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper leaving an overhang on 2 sides. Grease sides and set aside

2.     Mix together the oats, bran, flour, low sodium baking powder, and spices in a bowl and set aside

3.     Mix the apple juice and butter in a small saucepan or measuring cup. Heat over the stove or in a microwave (if using the measuring cup) until the butter is melted. Add this to the cubed apple and set aside to cool to room temperature.

4.     Lightly whisk the egg, half and half, maple syrup and brown sugar. Mix in the vanilla and melted butter. Add the liquid mixtures to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared baking dish. Let stand for about 15- 20 minutes so that the dry mixture can absorb the liquid. You can sprinkle some thick cut old fashioned oats on the surface at this point (1-2 tablespoons)

5.     Bake for about 35 minutes in a 375 degrees Fahrenheit oven or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool, invert then cut into slices of a size of your choosing (I cut into 9 square bars).

6.     Store in refrigerator or wrap and freeze.Top with your favorite fresh or stewed fruit.

Low Sodium Oatmeal Spice Cake

 

This is a delicious oatmeal spice cake recipe. The original is from an old cookbook I have from back when people didn't care about fats, sugar or Sodium. I've made it lighter and cut the sodium content significantly by leaving out added salt, using unsalted butter and shortening, and using low sodium baking powder rather than straight baking soda (which has tons of sodium). I've enhanced the taste with a lot of spices and you can even add orange zest or 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves to give it a bit more "zing"! I cut it into 16 slices but if I did not have to watch portions, I'd probably do 8!

1/2 cup pure apple juice

1/2 cup water

1 cup rolled oats (old fashioned)

1/4 cup unsalted butter

¼ cup shortening

1/2 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons molasses

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon allspice

1 tsp reduced sodium baking powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup dried fruit (cranberries, raisins etc)

 Instructions

 1.      Line the bottom of a 13x9x2 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the sides.

2.      Bring apple juice, water, dried fruit, brown sugar, butter, maple syrup and molasses to a boil. Pour over oats and allow to cool.

3.      Mix the spices, baking powder, and flour together in a small bowl. Set aside.

4.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5.      Whisk the two eggs until pale in color. Add vanilla.

6.      Mix in eggs, and vanilla into cooled oat mixture. Add the flour and stir until combined.

7.      Pour into prepared baking dish, bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean

8.      Cool and cut into 16 slices.