Honey Yogurt Whole Wheat Bread

For my birthday this year, a dear friend gave me a beautiful bottle of olive oil, made from his family's farm in Greece.  The olive oil is... fantastic.  Beyond fantastic.  It tastes so flavorful and fresh, you can have it on its own.  I mean, I wouldn't advise you to drink it straight from the bottle, but if some dribbles off the side of the bottle and you happen to see it and you want to catch it with your finger and then you want to suck that olive oil off your finger, then, well... who am I to judge?

What’s left of the olive oil.  That is some good ish right there.

Oftentimes when I feel unmotivated to do something, I give myself a proverbial carrot to help me along.  This morning, in order to inspire me to clean the kitchen and then work out, I promised myself hot coffee and fresh, homemade bread.  Here’s my recipe for quick, whole wheat bread.  From start to finish, it takes less than an hour.  In the batter, I use whole milk plain yogurt, whole milk, and raw local honey.  I also used a scoop of the delicious olive oil, shown above.  It turned out wonderfully.  The density is similar to other quick bake breads (like banana bread), but it’s got a bit more of a crumb.  Can’t wait to have some for dessert tonight!  One of my favorite things to do is to toast it in a pan with butter – you can get a nice, crunchy, buttery crust on the bread.  If you’re feeling extra extravagant, garnish with ice cream.  Hot damn that is some good eatin’ right there. 


Recipe
Adapted from Shelbee's recipe.

Makes one (1) loaf.

2 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda 
1 tsp. salt
1 cup of honey
1 cup of yogurt
1/2 c. whole millk
1/2 c. olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 350°.

1.  In one bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
2.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the honey, yogurt, milk, and olive oil.
3.  Make a well in the bowl of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid ingredients.  Mix until just combined. 
4.  Grease a loaf pan on all sides and pour the batter in.  Bake for 40 minutes. 

Once the bread is done, flip the pan over to knock the bread out.  Put the bread right side up and, if you’re impatient and hungry like me, feel free to liberate a slice of fresh bread from that pan, and pop it in your mouth.  Perfect with jam and butter, and a cup of coffee or tea.  I didn’t even make it to the dining table – just ate it, standing in the middle of my kitchen.  Mmmm…..  Happy Sunday.