Buckwheat Walnut Bread

After an unusually warm winter, an unusually warm spring has arrived here Alaska, and I am already thinking about day hikes and camping trips. It means it is time to create healthy and nutritious snacks for my summer adventures.

I love the heartiness of whole grains, so I try to incorporate them into my baking as much as possible. In this recipe, I experimented with buckwheat flour, which I should do more often. The flour adds a nice nutty flavor to the bread, complimenting the other ingredients. This bread is moderately sweet, so if you like it sweeter, add 1/4 cup unrefined sugar to the recipe.

Prep: 15 min  Bake: 1 hr   Total: 1 hr 15 min

Ingredients

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt or to taste

1 cup minus 1 tbsp almond milk

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 eggs, whisked

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 coconut butter, melted

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup dry raisins or cranberries

oil for greasing a pan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Put the apple cider in a measuring cup, and pour the milk over it to equal 1 cup. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, sift the flours, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl or a blender, mix the eggs, almond extract, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture until evenly moistened. Fold in the walnuts and raisins.

Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.  Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until a cake taster or tooth pick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.

Remove the bread from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread. Turn it out of the pan, and place it back on the rack to cool before slicing. The bread is going to crumble if you cut into it before it cools down completely.

Serve as is or with tea.

Enjoy!