Applesauce Bread Recipe

Have you ever had applesauce bread? This delightful baked good is slightly spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, with a hint of sweetness. It is best served as a morning breakfast alongside coffee and a hard boiled egg for a little added protein. You could also enjoy it as a snack throughout the day, and your taste buds will begin to crave the wonderful flavor of this wonderful bread.

This is a classic childhood recipe for the recipe developer and registered dietitian nutritionist, Kristen Carli, MS, RD. Carli notes that this recipe is a family favorite that her mother grew up eating. That nostalgia is present in the use of popular ingredients from the seventies like wheat germ, molasses, and vegetable shortening. The addition of wheat germ, in particular, brings an added source of fiber and vitamin E to this recipe, per Healthline. Follow our step by step guide of how to bake two loaves of applesauce bread below!

To make this applesauce bread, you will first need to gather your ingredients. This recipe calls for vegetable shortening, sugar, molasses, eggs, flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, wheat germ, cinnamon applesauce, and golden raisins. If you cannot find cinnamon applesauce, regular applesauce will work just fine. Likewise, the darker normal raisins are a great substitute for golden raisins. In terms of equipment, you will need two loaf pans, a stand mixer, and an oven.

Here we go! First things first, preheat your oven to 350 F and spray the loaf pans with nonstick cooking spary. Now, add the vegetable shortening and the granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat these ingredients until they are fully incorporated and combined. If you do not have vegetable shortening, unsalted butter is just fine to use as a shortening substitute. We prefer the taste of shortening, but understand that not everyone has this readily in their kitchens.

Next, you can add the molasses and the eggs to the bowl of the stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment again, beat this mixture until it is combined. You want to ensure that the mixture is well-incorporated and the eggs are beaten into the mixture. We love using molasses of any kind, as it adds such depth to any baked good. Just a little bit goes a long way, and you'll relish in the deep taste of molasses in every bite of this bread!

Now, it is time to work on preparing our dry ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, add the flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves. Using a whisk, mix to combine. Again, it's important to ensure that this mixture is fully incorporated. The baking soda amount is small, but we want it evenly mixed into the dry ingredients to provide even leavening in the applesauce bread loaves.

Pour the mixed dry ingredients into the bowl of the stand mixer with the wet ingredients. Also at this time, add in the wheat germ and the cinnamon applesauce. Using the paddle attachment of the stand mixer, beat until this mixture is combined. You should be left with a very wet batter, so don't panic if it seems a little runny. Now, add in the golden raisins. Using a spoon, stir to combine, ensuring that the raisins are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Carefully pour this batter into the two prepared loaf pans. Aim to split the batter roughly half and half between the two loaf pans. Then, bake the applesauce bread for 45 minutes. To check if the loaves are done, carefully insert a clean toothpick into the center of the bread. If it comes out clean, the bread is done. If it comes out with wet batter on it, continue to bake until cooked through. Just like that, you're ready to enjoy this moist, delicious bread! Pair a slice of bread with some coffee, tea, or spread some butter on top for extra decadence.