Apricot Almond Bread

Loafing around.

You know the old joke about men looking forward to the Victoria’s Secrets catalog arriving in the mail?  I know how they feel because when my King Artur Flour Baker’s Catalogue arrives, I’m in nirvana.  Seriously.  Heaven.  I drool.

My holiday preview issue arrived yesterday and at 9:00 in the evening I was whipping up a batch of bread!  Granted, I tweaked their recipe quite a bit, but man, oh man, this morning the bread on my plate was well worth the late evening.  Made it, baked it, and let it sit on the counter until this morning.  No joking.  I did not cut into the bread after it left the oven because King Arthur said to allow it to cool completely, and we all know I listen to King Arthur.

According to King Arthur, the “bread is a cross between a typical baking p0wdered-leavened bread, and a yeast bread.”  Say what?  Never tried that trick before.  The beauty of it is it’s super easy to whip up, and you only let it rise once (one hour) and then it’s popped in the oven.  No punching down and waiting hours for two risings.

As I said, I changed their recipe of Easy Cinnamon Bread to Apricot Almond Bread and can’t wait to start experimenting with other variations.

If you’re not a good yeast bread baker, please try this.  Prior to baking it won’t resemble a yeast bread whatsoever (it’s sticky), so if you’re used to baking quick breads, you’ll find this recipe very familiar.

No more typing, more eating.  Bye now.

Apricot Almond Bread

3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon King Arthur cake enhancer (opt.)
1 cup warm milk
¼ cup melted butter
1 large egg
½ cup chopped apricots
½ cup chopped almonds

Topping: Mix ¼ cup sugar w/ 1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, yeast, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and cake enhancer.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, butter, and egg.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients, beating until smooth.

Stir in the apricots and almonds.  Spoon batter into a greased 8½″ x4 ½″ loaf pan.  Let covered batter rest in a warm spot for one hour.  Sprinkle with topping mixture.

Preheat oven to 350° and bake bread for 35-40 minutes, until done.  Remove bread from oven and let rest in pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer from the pan to a rack to cool completely.

Note: let bread cool completely before slicing.

For more yeast love, check out YeastSpotting!

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