Sweet Potato Walnut and Cranberry Loaf

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586040947383449198.post-70829354375664402402008-03-02T18:13:00.008-05:002008-03-02T23:38:02.060-05:002008-03-02T23:38:02.060-05:00Sweet Potato Walnut and Cranberry Loaf<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/__MYjDzAJuCQ/R8s5kzxEAaI/AAAAAAAAAU0/7pKFnH1vPnk/s1600-h/sweetploaf1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/__MYjDzAJuCQ/R8s5kzxEAaI/AAAAAAAAAU0/7pKFnH1vPnk/s400/sweetploaf1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173291901499212194" border="0" /></a>Yesterday, I steamed a large sweet potato to serve as a dinner side dish and had quite a bit left over today (it tastes so good steamed then drizzled with honey!). Loaded with vitamins C and A (check out the health benefits of this veggie <a href="http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64">here</a>), sweet potato is one of my favorite veggies that also doubles as a healthy dessert. I love pumpkin bread, and because sweet potato's texture reminds me of pumpkin, I thought it might also serve as a nice bread base. I was right! This is a very hearty and harvesty, lightly sweetened bread that can be eaten alone or with your favorite bread topping. Since this recipe was the result of a kitchen experiment, after I mixed all the ingredients together, I thought I might actually end up with cookies instead of bread. The dough was very thick. The last few bread doughs I threw together were more gooey in texture. So, I decided to first use some of the dough to make a few cookies before rolling it all up into a dough loaf. Well, the "cookies" came out very bready in texture, so I figured it'd be a good idea to proceed with the initial bread idea. The cookies came out very tender, and I wanted a much crispier bread. I added a few things to the outer layer, to create a sweet, golden, and crispy crust that would result from keeping it in the oven for almost an hour...and here are all the ingredients I used to make this filling bread: 3 1/3 cups flour 2/3 cups sugar 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 cup molasses 1/3 cup canola oil 2 eggs 1 1/4 cup sweet potato (first steamed or baked then mashed) 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/2 TBSP cinnamon 1/2-3/4 tsp salt 3/4 cup cranberries 3/4 cup walnuts I mixed the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ones in another, then combined them in one bowl. Before baking the dough, I rolled/shaped it into a loaf and brushed the top with about 1 1/2 TBSP of butter. I then placed it in a loaf/bread pan and covered it with foil. I baked it for 20 minutes at 350, then took it out of the oven so that I could sprinkle some cinnamon and brown sugar on top (add however much you want). I removed the foil and put the loaf back in the oven for another 30 minutes. That's about it! P.S. This new, cute layout was designed by <a href="http://www.acornglue.com/">Sharnee</a>! Thanks for all your hard work! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/__MYjDzAJuCQ/R8s_gzxEAbI/AAAAAAAAAU8/j2CEtG2Naio/s1600-h/emo1rk1.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 14px; height: 16px;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/__MYjDzAJuCQ/R8s_gzxEAbI/AAAAAAAAAU8/j2CEtG2Naio/s400/emo1rk1.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173298429849502130" border="0" /></a> <center><img src="http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff28/irunpink/sig1a.jpg" /></center>Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02370178035131212982irunpink@gmail.com2