Macoun Apples @ Riiska Brook Farm

Rustic Apple Orange Quick Bread

Last weekend we visited the lovely and peaceful Riiska Brook Farm in Sandisfield, MA. We were delighted to find the trees laden with apples, begging to be picked. Because of this year’s funky weather, some orchards in the area were hit hard by an early season frost. Apparently, Riiska’s trees suffered no such damage.

After eating more than our fill of crunchy Macoun, Empire, Fuji, Gala and Braeburn apples, I thought of what to prepare with our peck. I was intrigued by the “No Crust” Apple Pie recipe from the From Scratch Club blog and had planned to bake that. But when I awoke unnaturally early on Saturday morning, it seemed more appropriate to bake for breakfast.  I thought about  a variation of the yummy Zucchini Orange bread I baked during the summer. Apples and oranges go together, so why not? I had some OJ in the fridge, too. I consulted a few recipes and not finding one to my likening (i.e., did not want to use shortening), I improvised a little and hoped for the best. Improvising and baking  don’t usually go together, but the quick bread spirits must have been looking favorably upon me. This recipe below produced 2 delicious, moist, rustic and not overly-sweet Apple Orange Loaves.  Yum. I used a mix of apples, and gave them a rough chop. The result made for an attractive loaf, too.

Rustic Apple Orange Quick Bread Recipe

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1  teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups, peeled, chopped apples (roughly 3 apples)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans. Mix flour, cinnamon, soda,  and salt  together. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and add vanilla, sugar and oil. Add orange juice. Slowly add dry mixture – batter should be quite thick. Stir in apples.

Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour and check for doneness by inserting a toothpick. Bread is ready when it is lightly browned on top. Raise temperature to 350, if needed, and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and place loaf pans on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Enjoy.

Yield: 2 loaves

Apple Picker Extraodinaire @ Riiska Brook Farm