whole wheat molasses bread.

I figure what with all the delicious things I have been eating, with zero shame, in massive quantities, I should at least have something healthy on standby. That's where this bread comes in.

I was browsing different blogs for some inspiration and came upon this recipe on joythebaker's site. The pictures drew me in - the loaf looked really nice & hearty, with a gorgeous crust. I wanted it.

And so, in literally 10 minutes, I mixed the dry and wet, added dry to wet, and quickly greased a pan to bake it in. Then I ran to watch Midnight in Paris. Have you ever seen that movie? Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, and Rachel McAdams are in it .. I like them all. And it got all these awards/nominations .. I feel like maybe, if analyzed, it would spur some great life revelations. However, surrounded by my brother who kept trying to provoke me into attacking him by poking me, my dad who was fiddling with his videocamera, and my mom, who I could tell was on the brink of passing out, I did not find it that awesome.

There are six ingredients to this loaf. So simple. And so healthy - it calls for all whole wheat flour (though I subbed a little bit with white flour, to ensure my family would eat it), in addition to cornmeal, which adds fabulous crunch. The only two wet ingredients are buttermilk (or yogurt, like I used) and molasses. No added sugar or fats, other than that naturally occurring in the yogurt & molasses. It's so healthy!! And hearty. It will work to keep you full, that's for sure.

Make this bread, please. Ignore the weirdness of it and the fact that it can be savory or sweet, depending on your preference, and go make it so you can rip off chunks of the crusty top soon after it leaves the oven, all warm and toasty, with the cream cheese (or Nutella, I tried both) getting all melty and increasing in deliciousness.

Whole Wheat Molasses Bread
yields one 9x5" loaf ; followed word for word from here. 

• 1 2/3 cups buttermilk (or plain, low-fat diluted yogurt)
• 1/2 cup molasses 
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I subbed 1/2 cup for white flour) 
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking soda  
• 1 tspn salt 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, or 300 if using convection setting. Grease and flour a loaf pan. Or spray with baking spray. 
2. Whisk the dry ingredients together. 
3. Whisk the buttermilk and molasses together well. 
4. Add dry to wet, with a rubber spatula. 
5. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake 40 - 55 minutes. A skewer should come out clean, and should not make a gooey sticking noise when you pull it out, which may indicate the bottom is not fully baked. 
6. Remove pan from oven, let cool a few minutes, and then run plastic knife along edges to loosen them from the pan. Invert gently and carefully, onto a wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly wrapped. Can keep out at room temperature for up to 4 days. 
7. Enjoy with cream cheese (I like it with the whipped version!), Nutella, or butter and jam!!