RECIPE: Cranberry Oat Bread
Description
This festive and popular cranberry oat bread from Botanical Kitchen is loved by health-conscious people who follow a plant-based, sustainable lifestyle. For those following a therapeutic diet to support healing, this recipe is a gift as it is oil-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, refined sugar-free, and fabulous! Fresh or frozen cranberries work equally well, so you can make this bread year-round. The coconut in this recipe helps balance the texture and adds small amounts of healthy fats that make the fat-soluble nutrients like vitamin E in both cranberries and apples bio-available for absorption — a functional nutrition approach to using food as medicine. See the note below about making your own oat flour — a cheaper, fresher, and plastic-free way to go. Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1/2–1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup apple sauce
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vinegar (use apple cider or white vinegar)
- Zest of 1 orange
- 2 cups oat flour
- 2 tablespoons finely shredded, unsweetened coconut
- 3 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon whole rolled oats for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper, or grease the tin.
- Roughly chop the fresh and dried cranberries. Reserve a tablespoon or two for garnish.
- Wash and zest the skin of 1 orange.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the apple sauce, maple syrup, vinegar, and orange zest until smooth. Stir in chopped cranberries.
- Blend the oat flour and finely shredded coconut for 45– 60 seconds in a blender or food processor until you have a very fine and even oat flour. Pour the oats and coconut into a mixing bowl, and add the tapioca flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into the lined or greased loaf tin, and spread it evenly. Garnish the top with oats and cranberries. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Start checking after 45 minutes; when done, the loaf will spring back when lightly pressed, and an inserted skewer will come out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn onto a wire cooling rack, remove the loaf tin and the paper, if using, and cool completely before slicing with a bread knife.
- Store in an airtight container once completely cooled. Freeze whole or in easy-to-grab slices.
Notes
MAKING OAT FLOUR: Making oat flour is a simple, sensible, and affordable approach to conscious cooking and sustainable living. You can use store-bought oat flour if you like, but making your own is cheaper, tastes fresher, and uses less plastic packaging. Place 2 to 3 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats (not steel cut or quick oats) in a blender or food processor and blend for a few minutes until the oats have turned into a fine flour. We find that the blender, especially a high-powered Vitamix blender, tends to grind the oats quicker and finer than a food processor, where oats can end up slightly grittier. But either works well for this cranberry tea cake. Store in a flour container and use for any recipe that calls for oat flour. A nutritious whole-grain, oats contain protein, fiber, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, among other nutrients.
