This morning, I cycled 32 miles. Thirty. Two. My longest ride of the year thus far.
For some reason, the hills that I regularly ride felt harder. Maybe it was the chilly wind, making my muscles tighten up. Maybe it was the fatigue caused by my hypothyroidism. Maybe it was that I just hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before. Or maybe it was just one of those days.
I don’t know what it was, but I do know what got me through the last five miles. The thought of a thick slice of this bread. Fruity, vanilla-scented bread.
It is the perfect way to refuel, too, filled with ingredients like whole wheat flour, ground flax seed, applesauce, pears and walnuts.
Vanilla-Scented Pear Bread
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup ground flax seed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup low-fat milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 medium pear, diced
1 cup walnut halves
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 5×9″ loaf pan.
Chop the walnuts until coarsely ground. (I did this in the chopper attachment of my immersion blender.)
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, flax seed, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Fold in the applesauce.
Add the milk and vanilla, stirring until smooth and well-mixed. Fold in the pear and walnuts.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and bake for 40-45 minutes at 350F. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before sliding a knife around the edges and turning the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
How do you refuel after a hard workout?
Congrats on the 32 miles! That’s great, Julie.
This bread looks fantastic. I never think to bake with pears, but it’s a wonderful idea. Hope you’re having a great day!
They get all nice and sweet and soft when you bake with them. Yum!
Sounds yummy! Your recipes are always my favorites and fun. Actually something I may even be able to make. Thanks for all the great ideas!!!
Thank you. Let me know how you like it!
Ah, this sounds like a fantastic idea! I do love using fruit for sweetness. Do you think could get away with a bit less sugar? I usually cut sugar in half in most recipes I make and very rarely does anyone notice.
The bread isn’t super-sweet, but if you want to cut it back more, I would guess that you could go down to 1/2 or even 1/3 cup of sugar.
Thanks, Julie, for your reply. i might try this over the weekend. Take care!
Vanilla and pair. Plenty of fiber. Great recipe. GREG
Thanks, Greg!
Is it ok to use all whole wheat pastry flour or is there a particular reason to use 1 cup of wheat and 1 cup pastry flour?
You can use all pastry flour for sure. I just like the texture of a little whole wheat flour in there. If you do use all pastry flour, you may not need quite as much liquid as I called for in the recipe, so add the liquid ingredients slowly.
For reasons why, see this post:
http://www.savvyeat.com/baking-with-wheat-flour-its-all-about-the-protein/
Mmm that sounds really good!