Orange Rhubarb Bread

Cornmeal and rhubarb?  Who knew how great this combination would be?  The color of the bread is great.  The bread is moist and the tart/sweet vibe is delicious.  This is my new favorite rhubarb bread recipe.

Orange Rhubarb Quick Bread
Country Home, March/April 2009

2 ½ cu. flour
¼ c. cornmeal
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 ½ c. sugar
¾ c. butter
3 eggs, beaten
½ c. milk
zest from one medium sized orange
2 tbsp orange juice
2 c. chopped rhubarb

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine dry ingredients except sugar.
Separately combine sugar, butter, eggs, milk, zest and oj.  Pour into dry ingredient mix and stir until moistened.  Mix in rhubarb.

Pour into two greased bread pans.  Bake for 55 minutes.

Flops – What happens when you forget the egg in rhubarb bread

Today’s post is about flops.  Totally.  As in the bread falling completely apart.

One of the great things about rhubarb is that you can quickly chop it up and pop it into the freezer for baking later.  In a few months, fresh rhubarb will be available.  So I thought I would finish up the rhubarb in the freezer.  Rhubarb bread is one of my favorites so you’d think I’d pay more attention while putting it together.

Unfortunately I forgot the egg.  Egg is very important.  According to Darra Goldstein in the Baking Boot Camp, eggs are necessary for stability (2007).  Eggs work with flour to add structure.  During the baking process the two ingredients react to each other and solidify the batter for its final form.  Without eggs, everything falls apart.  As evidenced by the photograph.

The flavor is still pretty good.  I’m thinking of getting some vanilla ice cream and crumbling my learning experience on top.

Rhubarb Bread

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. oil
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk
1 t. salt
1 t. soda
1 t. cinnamon
2 c. flour
2 c. rhubarb

Combine all the ingredients.  Pour into two greased loaf pans.

Mix

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 T. butter

Melt butter, mix in sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle mixture on top of batter.

Bake for 60 minutes

Goldstein, D. (2007). Baking boot camp: Five days of basic training at the Culinary Institute of America.  Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.