January 9, 2012

The 10 Best Breads to Bake this Winter {Naptime Simple Tips}

I am all about baking bread, especially in the winter. Sure, I still buy a good loaf of country bread for sandwiches now and then, but I mostly bake it from scratch. It really is a cinch to make no-knead bread during naptime (an actual webisode of that to come later this week!) and a large loaf lasts us for at least a week. Denser sweet breads are easy too, and they are great for breakfast, school snack or even dessert. Most the loaf batters below can be made with a simple bowl and spoon and take less than ten minutes to pull together. Perfect for naptime baking!

Lately I’ve been baking my daughter lots of banana bread and pumpkin bread. They are her two favorites and are great for packing in her school snack box. I’ll admit, when she is at school I often sneak a few slices for myself to enjoy with my afternoon cuppa. Here are some of my favorite breads for winter naptime baking.

Mom's Bread

1. Mom’s Classic Banana Bread: I have to list this first since it is our absolute favorite. We make a batch nearly every week and I always have a stockpile of bananas in the freezer just for this.

Tea Loaves

2. Meyer Lemon-Ginger Bread with Lemon Glaze: This zesty bread is studded with candied ginger and is a great gift or after dinner treat.

 

Bread pain

3. Pain d’Epice (French Spice Bread): This gorgeous spice bread is sweetened with jam and is perfect for an afternoon tea tray or bundling up for a gift.

 

Banana Bread Ginger

4. Banana Bread with Ginger & Chocolate Chips: Molly’s now classic recipe is a favorite around here. My daughter is slightly opposed to the candied ginger so I often reserve making this for when friends come over.

 

No Knead

5. Rosemary Lemon No-Knead Bread: This gorgeous no-knead bread is ideal for toast with jam or dipping in hot soup!

 

6. Sara’s Whole Wheat Bread for her Family: I’ve always love this tale about my friend Sara baking bread for her family!

 

Pumpkin Bread

7. Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips: We stock up on pumpkin all fall so we can make this all winter. It can be made with or without chocolate chips and is a great for school snack!

 

Banana Bread with Cinnamon Chips

8. Banana Bread with Cinnamon Chips: A third variation on a classic recipe, this one comes with extra spice from the cinnamon chips!

 

Apple Bread

9. Apple Bread with Cinnamon Sugar: This dense, delicious bread is made with our favorite fruit and is great for breakfast or dessert!

 

Rhubarb Orange Snack Bread

10. Rhubarb Orange Snack Bread: Did you freeze rhubarb? If not, don’t worry, you can still make this without it. Or, for a new twist substitute a different fruit like chopped apples or pears.

 

 

2 Responses to “The 10 Best Breads to Bake this Winter {Naptime Simple Tips}”

  1. Yum!! Those all look so good. I also love to put cinnamon chips in banana bread. It gives it such a nice flavor that changes it up from your normal banana bread. 

  2. They all look yummy, but have you ever looked at the ingredients in packaged cinnamon chips?! Not stuff (not even really food, to be sure) that I want to eat myself – or feed to kiddos as part of a healthy snack. Luckily, cinnamon chips are easy to make yourself. (And if you think these ingredients look suspicious, really – look at the packages in the stores!)

    Cinnamon Chips:

    Heat oven to 300 F. Combine
    1/3 cup sugar, 1 ½ TBSP
    cinnamon, 1 TBSP vegetable shortening, 1 TBSP light corn syrup. Mix with a fork
    until uniform and crumbly. Spread on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake
    until melted and bubbly. Cool completely, then break into small pieces. Makes
    approximately 1 cup.