My Carrot Apple Bread is the exact right ratio of wet to dry, sweet to savory, and air to crumb. I could eat this for dessert, but it has enough visible vegetables to count as breakfast too.
I started this post nine months ago and I’m only now getting around to finishing it. I’m going to start in present-day and then I’ll just plop in a heading that says “Notes from May 2020” and let you read my ramblings. And they truly are ramblings; I like to write about a recipe as I eat it so that you get my natural reaction. I don’t want to tell you that Carrot Apple Bread is “moist and delicious with a hint of cinnamon.” Like, duh, come on! I wouldn’t make a quick bread that wasn’t moist and delicious and if I put cinnamon in it, well of course it tastes like it has a hint of cinnamon.
So anyway, you’ll understand when you continue reading.
Notes from May 2020
This absolutely does not need butter on it, but I went for it anyway.
Just moist enough. It’s not dense. It’s the exact right ratio of wet to dry ingredients, sweet to savory, air to crumb. It’s the most perfect quick bread I’ve ever made.
I have been converted to a statistical baking freak. I’ve started weighing dry ingredients in grams and now I’m taking internal temperatures of my breads. But I’ll tell you what — I’ve never had a quick bread turn out this perfectly baked.
This has restored confidence in my baking game again.
And you want to know WHY I was lacking confidence in baking? Because my oven is 50, yes, FIFTY, degrees off! My oven is probably from the 1960s. I am not kidding. It was made before warranties and serial numbers existed. There are actual pilot lights that I have to relight from time to time. For example, if I open the back door and a whoosh of air blows through the kitchen and then I smell gas several hours later… welp, it’s the pilot light. I feel like Betty Draper in Mad Men except Betty Draper’s oven–actually, her entire kitchen–is much nicer than mine. She was rich.
Anyway, I finally got smart and popped an oven thermometer into my oven and that’s when I found out that I’m actually not a bad baker anymore. I can stop fretting that I’ve lost my touch. I can, in fact, make baked goods, especially the really simple kind like Carrot Apple Bread.
But more to the point: It’s true… I’ve never had a quick bread turn out this perfectly baked and I’ll probably never go back to conventional measuring cups and eyeballing when things are done in the oven. My Carrot Apple Bread is the exact right ratio of wet to dry, sweet to savory, and air to crumb. I could eat this for dessert, but it has enough visible vegetables to count as breakfast too. Instead of a dusting of sugar crystals, it’s laden with carrot slivers. So here and now, just to let ALL THE PEOPLE KNOW, I am eating the most perfectly baked vegetable bread and I recommend that you go bake one too.
Carrot Apple Bread
My Carrot Apple Bread is the exact right ratio of wet to dry, sweet to savory, and air to crumb. I could eat this for dessert, but it has enough visible vegetables to count as breakfast too.
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon powdered ginger or 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1½ cup shredded carrot
- 1½ cup grated apple I used red, but any variety works
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans optional
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare an 8×4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray, then line the bottom with parchment paper. Stash the pan in the fridge or freezer to chill while you make the batter.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until light and frothy. Add the oil, sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat well for one minute. Add the carrot, apple, and nuts (if desired) and stir to combine.
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold them in gently until just combined, with no dry patches. The batter will be quite thick, but that's how it should be. There is a lot of moisture in the carrot and apple that will be released during baking, which will keep the loaf moist. Do not over-mix.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55-65 minutes until the internal temperature is 190 degrees F. The edges of the bread will just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out with just a few moist crumbs on it.
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Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 15-20 minutes before removing the loaf from the pan, then let cool completely. Serve immediately or wrap and store at room temperature for 3-4 days.
More Quick Bread Recipes
Carrot Pumpkin Bread with Cider Glaze
Irish Coffee and Chocolate Loaf Cake
Skinny Peanut Butter and Blackberry Bread
