Super Nutty Apple Cinnamon Bread

A soft, moist bread with classic apple cinnamon flavours and chock full of nuts.

Course Breakfast, Snack, Sweet

Cuisine Other

Keyword almond, apple, cinnamon, oat, walnut

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings slices

Calories 359kcal

Author Lauren

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats (Note 1)
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (Note 2)
1 cup almonds, roughly chopped (skin left on) (Note 2)
1.5 cups wholemeal flour (Note 3)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarb / baking soda (Note 4)
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/8 tsp nutmeg (Note 5)
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk, low fat
1.5 tsp vanilla extract (Note 6)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, light in flavour (Note 7)
2 large pink lady apples, skin left on

Cups - Metric

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
In a large bowl, add the oats and nuts. Place a fine sieve over the bowl and sift into the wholemeal flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices. Tip there maining bran from the flour into the bowl. If using a whole nutmeg seed, grate it finely into the bowl. Stir to mix.
In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, extra virgin olive oil, milk, and vanilla extract.
Grate the pink lady apples, quickly add them to the wet ingredients and stir to mix.You want to do this step as quick as possible, as coating the grated apple in the egg mix will prevent it from turning brown.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg-apple mixture and gently fold until combined. It is important not to overmix; otherwise, you will end up with a dense loaf of bread that doesn’t rise as much.
Scoop the bread mixture into the lined loaf tin. Place the loaf tin into the oven and bake for 45 – 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and the top is a nice golden brown.
Leave the loaf in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool further. Serve warm plain or with a spread of your choice. Enjoy!

Notes

Oats - Can easily be substituted for oatmeal, just choose an option with no added sugar.
Nuts - Feel free to experiment with different nuts such as pecans, hazelnuts, etc. I used almonds and walnuts as these nuts are relatively cheap. You can also choose to leave them whole if you'd like.
Wholemeal flour - Contains more dietary fibre and micronutrients than white flour. I used 'The Healthy Baker' wholemeal flour from Woolworths, as it has even more dietary fibre than regular wholemeal flour. However, this recipe works with regular wholemeal flour.
Bicarb / baking soda - Necessary to achieving a nice tall bread loaf. It's sort of like baking powder but on steroids, and gives 3x more rise than just baking powder alone.
Nutmeg - I used a whole nutmeg seed and grated it using a microplane grater. However, you can easily just used ground nutmeg.
Vanilla extract - Is more natural and contains more flavour than vanilla essence.
Extra virgin olive oil - Is a great, healther option to vegetable/canola oils. You want to use an extra virgin olive oil that is light in flavour only, that way you get all the health benefits without a stong, overpowering flavour. I used light extra virgin olive oil by 'Cobram Estate', which is available from all major food retailers in Australia.
Sweetness - If you want the bread to be sweeter, try switching to either red delicious, gala or fuji red apples. Otherwise add 1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup.
Gluten free - Switch the wholemeal flour for certified gluten-free flour (e.g. sorghum, buckwheat, or almond flour) and substitute the rolled oats for quinoa flakes. Unfortunately, in Australia, oats are one product that cannot be labelled gluten-free. However, if you can find gluten-free oats, always double check to ensure they are certified gluten-free.
Vegan - Swap the eggs with a suitable egg replacer (such as 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal with 100ml / 3.4 fl oz water - allow to thicken) and use an unsweetened plant-based milk (preferably calcium-fortified).
Nutrition - Calculated per serve assuming 10 serves, not including any additional spreads / condiments.

Nutrition