Morning Glory Bread
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Back in August, my roommate and I went fly fishing in Idaho.
I do not like fly fishing. Truth. Logan likes fly fishing, and he has done an excellent job of convincing himself that I also enjoy the “sport.” In fact, when I failed to express adequate enthusiasm over his booking a guide for the aforementioned outing, he actually said, “I know you’re excited. You LOVE fly fishing!! We’re gonna catch so many hogs!!” (“Hog” is a big fish?)
I hated to be a buzzkill, but I did gently remind Logan that I’m not really into fishing of any kind—I’m legit terrified that a bad cast will lodge a fly in my eye or some other body part—and that our track record indicated we were unlikely to hook many hogs. He balked at this. “You are insane! We caught so many hogs last time and you loved it!!!” (Real life: We reeled in a grand total of two rather small fish on our last “adventure,” and I got infinity mosquito bites and a nasty sunburn.)
Knowing I would not win this fight, I decided to focus on the silver linings of fly fishing in Idaho. I like floating in boats! I enjoy watching Logan pretend to know what he’s doing with a fishing rod! The Tetons are pretty! If we caught fish, I could post photos of myself holding them on social media and make people think I am rugged and outdoorsy!!! (I am very good at finding silver linings.)
So on the morning of our fishing excursion, I dragged my adventurous ass out of bed at the crack of dawn, sprayed my entire body with bug spray (DEET poisoning be damned), and donned my finest “fishing casual” attire. Logan’s parents drove us into town to meet our guide, and while our licenses were being printed, they took us to their local bakery to pick up coffee and breakfast. In a very uncharacteristic move, I chose a morning glory muffin for the road.
I’m not really a muffin person. Most muffins are just cupcakes without icing, so I tend to steer clear of them for Gwyneth-like reasons. But on this particular day, I decided to go HAM given that I’d be spending the next several hours feigning enthusiasm about fish. And thank God I did. That muffin was a revelation. Warm and sweet, and dear God, SO MOIST.
In case you’re not familiar, a morning glory muffin is basically a hybrid carrot cake and apple-cinnamon situation. A good one is truly glorious, and that particular muffin was hands down the best one I’ve ever had. Morning glory or otherwise. It was so delicious that it managed to make the entire fishing experience a rather enjoyable/productive one. We may have only caught one very small fish, but I was quite happy sitting in the back of the boat listening to our guide’s radio and thinking about how best to recreate this muffin at home. Silver lining to end all silver linings!!!
It took me a few months, but I finally took the morning glory plunge a few weeks ago. I decided to go the bread route because I had misplaced my muffin tin, and I’m thrilled that I did. Mostly because I ended up slicing it thick, toasting it, and then spreading each piece with salted butter and cinnamon sugar, which I may not have thought to do with muffins. With that said, feel free to make muffins with this recipe! You do you. (I’d start checking them for doneness after 15 minutes.)
I’m pleased to inform you that the recipe is super simple, and the ingredient list is mostly pantry staples. Better still, the bread is made with 100% whole wheat flour, heart healthy coconut oil, and plenty of fruits and veggies, so it’s actually pretty damn good for you. I recommend considering it for your Thanksgiving breakfast/snacking needs. It’s a crowd-pleaser.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup grated carrots
- 1 Granny Smith apple peeled, cored and grated
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- 1/3 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ cup extra virgin coconut oil in liquid form
- 1½ cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1/3 cup golden raisins
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a standard loaf pan with a little bit of coconut oil and briefly set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the carrots, apple, egg, egg white, yogurt and maple syrup and coconut oil until very well combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in the raisins and walnuts.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan, and smooth the top with a spatula. (The batter will be pretty thick.) I like to sprinkle a few extra chopped walnuts and raisins on top, but that’s completely optional.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. (Be careful not to overbake! You want to keep things moist.)
- Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Slice and serve!
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Love this bread. Simply delicious!
Would this work with almond flour?
Unfortunately, it will be too dense with almond flour. If you need to make it GF, I’d go with a GF all-purpose blend!
The best bread loaf ever! My kids (6 & 4) also love it – this recipe really is a crowd pleaser. Moist, perfectly sweet and filling!
I was recently very upset to find my husband ate the 3 very brown bananas I had been saving to make banana bread muffins for our recent trip to the cabin……(ew lol). However a quick browse through my fridge and pantry made me realize I had all the ingredients for this bread/muffins! (Thank you for including the conversion to muffin time!) First time trying and we loved! A morning glory muffin convert.
I’ve made this dozens of times and most recently for an easy breakfast to keep on the counter for grazing while we had guests over. I received MANY compliments! Also, I have a baby under one so limit sugar for her, I subbed unsweetened applesauce for the maple and it is still rich and amazing that way (even for adults).
Anyway 1 can use traditional fat like olive oil or brown sugar instead of maple syrup? Thx
It will definitely work with vegetable oil. If you have light olive oil that should work as well, but extra virgin will have too strong of a flavor. I haven’t tested it with brown sugar, but I think it will work. Honey will also do!
Need nutrition info. Am diabetic.
Hi, I made this and it was so unbelievably delicious! However, the link to the recipe is now dead. Any luck in getting the recipe somewhere?
I realize that this post is now almost 2 months in the rearview, but after having dutifully emailed the recipe to myself (nerd), I’m pleased to report that after a slight delay, I finally made this and it.is.mind.blowing. It might be the best bread I’ve ever made. I had my first bite on a redeye flight for work on a federal holiday, and it was basically life sustaining, but I initially wasn’t sure if it was only *that* good in light of the fairly bleak surroundings. Further breakfasting in slightly more normal contexts has only supported my initial obsession. Will be making this over and over (fly fishing trips and work travel or not). THANK you!!
Well, this made my day!! I am THRILLED that someone else shares my obsession with this bread. Thank God you emailed yourself. Respect. (I actually got this recipe right on the first try, but I’d had some other recipe fails that day and worried that had biased my taste buds–my redeye moment–so I made it twice more to confirm deliciousness.) Here’s to many more Morning Glory experiences in our future!