Brown Sugar Carrot Bread

Brown Sugar Carrot Bread

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Recipe courtesy Mark Bittman

This is a deliciously moist, dense quick bread, but there are a few things I will do differently next time.  First I think I might lighten up the texture of the bread a little.  Mark used a combination of 1 ¼ cups all-purpose, ½ cup whole wheat, and ¼ cup course wheat bran, and I used a cup each of all purpose flour and white whole wheat flour.  Next time I think I might cut the whole wheat flour back to 1/2 cup.  I thought the orange zest was a little too dominant, so I might only use 1/2 tablespoon next time or eliminate it altogether.  Lastly, 1 teaspoon of salt seemed a bit much and I'll probably cut that in half.  The recipe didn't include them, but I added 3/4  cup raisins to the batter.

Makes: 1 loaf

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold butter, plus butter for the pan2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup brown sugar (golden or dark)1 ½ teaspoons baking powder½ teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon salt (I recommend 1/2 tsp)¾ cup almond milk1 tablespoon grated orange zest (I recommend 1/2 tablespoon or eliminate)1 egg1 cup grated carrots½ cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup raisins

1. Heat the oven to 350d F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with butter.

2. Stir together the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into bits, then use a fork, 2 knives, or your fingers to cut or rub it into the dry ingredients until there are no pieces bigger than a small pea. (You can use a food processor for this step, which makes it quite easy, but you should not use a food processor for the remaining steps or the bread will be tough.)

3. Beat together the milk, zest and egg. Pour into the dry ingredients, mixing just enough to moisten; do not beat and do not mix until the batter is smooth. Fold in the fruit and the nuts, then pour and spoon the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for about an hour, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.