Pear Coconut Bread

April 8, 2014

The past few weeks, Sundays have been for baking. And there’s a routine for Sunday Baking Days. First, I’ll fix a good breakfast and read something interesting/inspiring. Second, decide what tunes will fuel the baking process. I CAN NOT bake without music. Anybody else feel that way? In general, if it’s a sunny Sunday morning, I’ll go with classic rock. If it’s raining, I like something a little more laid back, like Ben Howard.

Once the Pandora station is going, I rummage through the pantry and refrigerator to figure out what will be thrown together. Baking is a great way to get rid of items you may have purchased for something in particular and then never thought about using again, or for ingredients that just come in larger-than-necessary quantities (unless you bake all the time). You know, items like dried cranberries, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, canned pumpkin leftover from fall, etc. It’s fun to just pull a bunch of things out of your pantry to create something fabulous. And you’ve accomplished two different tasks!

Anyways, Pear Coconut Bread is a new recipe for me but I’m very happy with the results. It is a healthier quick bread because of the White Whole Wheat flour in place of all-purpose flour and I reduced the amount of oil typically needed by adding Greek yogurt for moisture.

I highly suggest a cup of coffee to pair with your thick slice of Pear Coconut Bread. Yum…toasty coconut 🙂

Yum

Pear Coconut Bread

Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup shredded coconut

2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour, sifted

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

2 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tsp. coconut extract

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 pear

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Spread shredded coconut on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Once coconut is done toasting, increase oven temperature to 350°F and grease one 9x5 loaf pan.

2. While coconut is toasting, in a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, and cardamom. Make a well in the flour mixture.

3. In a stand mixer, combine eggs and sugar. Then add coconut oil, Greek yogurt, coconut extract, and vanilla extract.

4. Dice pear into 1/4 inch cubes and set aside.

5. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and mix with a spatula until just combined. Add in diced pear, walnuts, and toasted coconut, being careful to not over mix.

6. Pour batter into loaf pan*, place in oven and bake for approximately 65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the middle of the loaf is set.

7. Allow bread to sit for about 15 minutes before removing from pan and placing on a cooling rack.

Notes

Batter may be thicker than most quick breads, especially if the coconut oil starts to cool and return to a solid state. Coconut oil solidifies at about 76°F.

https://thenutritionadventure.com/pear-coconut-bread/