Fruitloaf

When I read about the "fruitloaf" in the book Triss, my immediate first thought was of banana bread. I don't think bananas are a thing in Redwall, though, so I decided to take a similar approach with a different fruit puree -- applesauce. If you wanted, you could also add a cup of chopped apples or nuts, but I left it plain other than the spices.

Fruitloaf

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices in a medium bowl.
   
3. Combine the milk, oil, applesauce, and vinegar in a large bowl.
   
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and gently stir until just combined.
5. Pour batter into a loaf pan lined with aluminum foil and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown.
   

Cheesebread

Cheesebread was mentioned twice in the book Loamhedge, first when three young Redwallers sneak out of the abbey to go to a festival, and later when refreshments are brought to watchers working to keep enemies from climbing over the wall. I decided to make it in the style of quick, fluffy drop biscuits infused with cheese shreds . I highly recommend eating these warm, while the cheese is gooey and the biscuits are super soft. I left these simple because I wanted the mild monterey cheese to stand out. Feel free to add herbs if you like, or to use a stronger cheese.

Cheesebread

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

Yield: 10 biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used Monterey jack)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Mix together the flour and baking powder
   
3. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or two knives until the butter pieces are smaller than peas
   
4. Add milk and mix until just combined (dough will be sticky)
   
5. Fold in cheese
   
6. Drop in 10 lumps on a baking sheet (they don't need to be pretty, but try to make them all similar sizes so they bake at the same speed)
   
7. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown

Hotroot Bread

One of the more intriguing savory bread ideas that came from Redwall is the idea of hotroot bread -- something I have marked down as coming from the book Mariel of Redwall, but that I can't find for the life of me... Anyway, I made this bread from the leftover habaneros from making my hotroot punch last week. I highly recommend de-seeding your peppers before chopping them, as I did, so that your bread has a nice sharpness instead of being too hot to eat an entire slice. I attempted to make this as a yeast bread, but wasn't hugely successful (I think my yeast was bad, since this basic recipe and method has worked for me in the past) and took a lot of time. In the future, if I made it again, I would use a basic quick bread recipe -- like the one I used to make the spice bread -- and stir in the chopped peppers before baking.

Hotroot Bread

Rise time: 1 hour for the first rise plus 1 hour for the second rise
Prep time: 10 minutes split before and between the rises
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup water
• Habanero peppers (I chopped up five, but probably only used three peppers worth)

Directions

1. Combine the flour and yeast in a bowl.
   
2. Add the water, stirring and kneading until the dough is smooth (it will still be a little sticky).
   
3. Roll the dough into a ball and place at the bottom of the bowl.
   
4. Cover the bowl with a damp, lint-free towel and leave to rest for an hour. If your oven has a proof setting, use that. If not, any out-of-the-way spot should be fine. 
   
5. While waiting, seed your habaneros and chop them finely. 
   
6. When the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down and knead in the peppers a little at a time until the bread looks as peppery as you'd like it to be. 
   
7. Shape the dough into a rough loaf shape, place in a loaf pan, then cover with the damp towel again for another hour.
   
8. When the second rise is approaching its end, preheat the oven to 410F. Bake the bread for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool completely before slicing. 
   

Spicebread

The Redwall series is certainly an exploration of carby goodness. When going through the series, I wrote down more than 40 different types of bread, more than 20 types of scones, and more than 50 turnovers/pasties. This particular bread, spicebread, I decided to make as a quick loaf bread to be cut into sandwich-like slices. I highly recommend spreading it with some of your favorite nut butter.

Spicebread

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

Yield: 1 loaf (about 12 slices)

Ingredients

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground allspice
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450F
2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices
   
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix just until combined
   
4. Pour mixture into a greased loaf pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown
   
5. Let cool completely before slicing

Fruit and Nut Rolls

I believe in recipes that are customizable. The filling for this recipe can be done a thousand ways. Take your favorite dried fruits, your favorite nuts, and any spices you think would go well with the two. This recipe seems like a lot of steps and time and work but it isn't actually as difficult as it seems and it yields a great result -- perfect for taking to holiday parties if you want to impress. There's also no added sugar in this recipe and the low-fat cream cheese adds a nice tang to compliment the natural sweetness of the fruit without letting the fat content become too high.

Fruit and Nut Rolls

Cook time: 20 minutes
Rest time: 1 hour
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Yield: 36 cookies

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 4 ounces (1 stick) butter, softened
• 4 ounces (1/2 package) reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour

For the filling

• 1/2 cup dried soft fruit, such as dried berries, dried plums, dried apricots, etc...dried hard fruit such as apples and pears probably won't work as well, but feel free to try and let me know
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp nuts
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp cinnamon or other spice(s)

Directions

1. Cream the butter and cream cheese until fluffy.
   
2. Add the flour and mix just until it comes together.
   
3. Knead the dough slightly with your hands until it comes together, then roll into two balls. Wrap the balls and let them chill in the fridge for an hour.
   
4. While waiting for the dough to chill, add all of the filling ingredients to a food processor.
   
5. Processes filling until it resembles coarse, sticky crumbs. If you don't have a food processor, chop the fruit and nuts as finely as you can, then mix in the butter and spices.
   
6. When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 350F.
7. Roll out one ball of dough with a rolling pin (or a smooth, round glass bottle). The ideal shape would be a 12"x7" rectangle, but it doesn't have to be perfect.
   
8. Cover the dough with half of the filling. I found the best way is to use your fingers to sprinkle it evenly, then gently press everything down into a solid layer. Don't worry if you can't cover the edges.
   
9. Roll the dough into a spiral log (roll along the short direction so your finished log is about 12" long).
   
10. Cut off the ragged, filling-less ends, then cut the log into 16 pieces.
    
11. Repeat for the second ball of dough, then place all the pieces onto a lined baking sheet. I pressed the scrap ends into two small blocks and added them to the sheet. You can see that my first log wasn't perfect -- the spiral was a little too loose -- but they'll still puff up nicely and taste great.
    
12. Bake for about 20 minutes, checking after 18 or so, until the rolls are golden brown. Leave the sheet on a cooling rack to cool, then enjoy.

Oat Bread

Oat bread was first mentioned in The Outcast of Redwall. I chose to make it a very plain, unsweetened bread which bakes up with a crispy crust and a creamy inside. The result is great when toasted up and topped with virtually anything, sweet or savory. If you want to make the bread sweeter, I would add a tablespoon of honey to the wet ingredients and perhaps a touch of vanilla extract. You also could add in all types of spices to make it nicer for savory toppings if you wish. Finally, if you're not vegan you could replace the milk with buttermilk to add a rich, creamy tang (if you do this, omit the vinegar).

Oat Bread

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

Yield: 1 loaf, about 8 slices

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Place the oats in a food processor and pulse until you have a fine flour.
   
3. Add the oat flour to the whole wheat flour and baking soda and whisk.
4. Add the oil, vinegar, and milk and mix until you have a thin batter.
   
5. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until golden brown.