By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- 4(291)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Serve this easy, moist and spicy quick bread with tea, pack it in a lunchbox or eat it for dessert. Use homemade or commercial applesauce with no sugar added.
Featured in: Recipes for Health: An Apple a Day
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Ingredients
Yield:One 9-by-5-inch loaf (12 slices).
- 170grams (1½ cups) whole-wheat pastry flour
- 70grams (½ cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1teaspoon baking soda
- 1teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼teaspoon ground allspice
- ½teaspoon ground cloves
- 1teaspoon ground ginger
- ½teaspoon salt
- 2large eggs
- 90grams (about ½ cup) raw brown sugar (turbinado) or packed light brown sugar
- ¼cup canola oil or grapeseed oil
- ¼cup plain low-fat yogurt or buttermilk
- 1cup organic applesauce with no sugar added
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- 50grams (about ½ cup) walnuts, coarsely chopped, or ½ cup raisins, plumped for 5 minutes in warm water and drained
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
191 calories; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 166 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
Step
1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle. Lightly oil a loaf pan and line with parchment. Oil the parchment.
Step
2
Sift together the flours, baking soda, spices and salt.
Step
3
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until the mixture is thick. Beat in the oil, yogurt or buttermilk, applesauce and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture without overbeating, and fold in the walnuts or raisins.
Step
4
Scrape into the loaf pan and bake 45 to 50 minutes, until the bread is firm and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
Tip
- Advance preparation: This will benefit from being wrapped tightly in plastic and sitting overnight. It will keep for 3 or 4 days. Do not refrigerate.
Ratings
4
out of 5
291
user ratings
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Cooking Notes
Amanda
Moist and tasty. I used butter instead of oil though. And I used equal parts white and whole wheat instead of more whole wheat.
Randy
I wanted to make a gluten free version so I used 170 grams of gluten free flour and 70 grams of buckwheat flour. It came out very well!
Ann Olszewski
I also had good luck on this recipe using whole spelt flour. Pistachios and pumpkin seeds were great as the nuts, along with a handful of crystalized ginger. Used olive oil and whole milk yogurt too. I made it all in the food processor, meaning only one bowl to wash, and the texture was absolutely perfect.
Mary G.
I love this recipe! The ingredients are always in my cupboard so it’s a great go-to choice. I make it gf with a combination of almond flour and standard gf flour blend, replace nutmeg w cardamom, and add 1/2 c of chopped candied ginger. Baked a little longer than you think it needs and the result is heavenly
Margaret
Another outstanding recipe. I made two changes, one intentional and one accidental. Intentional: I used 100% whole wheat pastry flour instead of mixing with all-purpose. Then I accidentally added 1/2 cup yogurt (homemade full-fat, from Melissa Clark's recipe here, drained as for Greek style) before adding the oil. So I just omitted the oil. Next time I might increase the spices just a bit. But it was delicious the next morning, both plain and lightly toasted with a bit of butter.
Georgia
I took two mini loafs out of freezer yesterday. It is tastier than I remembered. Imam enjoying this morning with my coffee.
Cam
For a slightly healthier/dairy free version I replaced the canola oil with coconut oil, replaced buttermilk with oat milk lemon juice, and replaced brown sugar with coconut sugar.
Sarah
I love this! It has become a staple in our house. There are only two of us, and this cake does not last long. It also feels healthy and goes perfectly with coffee. I add extra cloves, allspice, raisins and walnuts.
Western Winnie
Yum! A tasty addition to chilly autumn mornings. I made some small modifications to incorporate what I had on hand. My homemade ginger- infused applesauce was more of a chunky compote and the sweet apple jewels were lovely in the finished cake. Out of brown sugar, so substituted white and added a tablespoon of molasses. Used a square pan instead of a loaf. Walnuts went on top…with a small drizzle of spiced glaze. Will make again! Thanks Martha Rose!
Janco
Very good, moist, flavorful, textured, but too much cloves. Cut in half.
na
Made vegan version with oat milk and for each of eggs used 1/4 tsp soda and 1 TBS cider vinegar. Second time used 1 tsp baking powder instead of soda as recipe States and the same egg substitute.Came out great as muffins, baked for about 15 min w hot air at 170 c. Made 12 muffins
Annika
I halved the cloves and it was still overpowering. Cloves are much more potent than the other spices here, so should be cut down in my view.
Janet
Homemade applesauce and dried cherries (softened in orange juice) are my secret ingredients for this yummy bread.
Mick
We loved how the spice mix scented the batter (& the kitchen). I used homemade applesauce; next time I'll try adding some extra diced apple. Also used half wheat/half white flour. A sprinkle of the turbinado sugar on top before baking is worthwhile.
CT
I tried this with paw paw purée instead and it was really dry. I guess applesauce has more moisture, which I’ll account for next time.
first run
Used two small cups of apple sauce, 1/4 cup olive oil. Raisins, flax seas, almonds and pumpkin seeds. Made 15 muffins that are yummy! Didn’t have nutmeg but maybe next time will add cardamom
Mike
Very little taste to this.. not worth making.
Christa
This was delicious, easy to make, and deeply and wonderfully spiced, a pleasure to make and to eat.
BKA
I followed the recipe exactly, and found it rather dry and flavorless. It might be better with butter replacing the oil.
H
This was excellent! It's pretty forgiving. I used all AP flour, plain sugar, and olive oil because that's what was on hand. I also used both raisins and walnuts in the bread and extra sugar and walnuts on top. For a bread that's fairly plain otherwise, that extra texture and flavor was welcome.
applesauce bread recipe in pinterest
Added 2 Tablespoons of flour Dec sugar by 1 tablespoon
riley
Super simple recipe. Didn’t rise much, kind of a loaf/pound cake consistency. I brought it to my sports team and it was a hit! Very wintery taste! Super good!
Sarah
I love this! It has become a staple in our house. There are only two of us, and this cake does not last long. It also feels healthy and goes perfectly with coffee. I add extra cloves, allspice, raisins and walnuts.
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