Sunshine Citrus Bread

I had a great time visiting with my parents and my sister and her family for a few days, and though I’ve been taking a much-needed vacation from the computer, I just couldn’t resist adding one final recipe for the year. Besides, I just came back from Louisiana with more bags of citrus fruit than I brought home last time, and I need to start finding ways to use it up. Also, I finally managed to buy some of the King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour that I’ve been reading about for a while, and I wanted to try it out. So, I thought, how about a quick-bread made with…calamondins!

If you’ve been reading here for a while, you’ll remember calamondins. They are small citrus fruits, bigger than kumquats, smaller than clementines, that people often grow as ornamental plants. I enjoy their tart taste as an alternative to lemon in tea and pies, but I realize that they aren’t available to most of you, so the following recipe is written so that you should be able to use oranges, tangerines, or kumquats. Like kumquats, calamondins don’t have to be peeled, so if you’re using oranges or tangerines, be sure to chop up some of the peel to add to the bread.

This recipe makes one very large or two regular-sized loaves, something I didn’t realize when I tried to pour all the batter into my one medium-sized loaf pan. I ended up dipping out some of the batter and putting it into muffin cups, which led to the loaf not rising as high as it should have in the middle. But that was the only problem with this bread—and it didn’t affect the taste at all. It was light, tender, and strongly citrus-flavored, and my husband and daughter could not tell that it was made with whole wheat flour and without oil. It’s a new family favorite that I think we’ll make a winter tradition. And during cold season, who couldn’t use a little extra vitamin C?

Ingredients

1 cup citrus puree (see instructions)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup soymilk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1/4 cup raisins

Instructions

For calamondins: Cut about 12 calamondins in half and remove the seeds. Place them in a food processor and pulse to chop completely. Measure out 1 cup of puree and reserve the rest for another use.

For kumquats: Place about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of kumquats into food processor and pulse to chop completely. Measure out 1 cup of puree and reserve the rest for another use.

For oranges or tangerines: Peel 2 large or 3 medium oranges or tangerines and cut them into quarters. Remove seeds, if necessary, and place the fruit into a food processor. Pulse to chop completely. Measure out 1 cup of puree and reserve the rest for another use. Grate or chop 2 tablespoons of the peel, and add it to the recipe along with the cup of puree.

Preheat the oven to 350 F and oil or spray one large (9 X5X3-inch) or two medium loaf pans. In a large mixing bowl, combine the puree, sugar, soymilk, and apple sauce. In another bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients and mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir just until all the flour is moistened. Do not over-stir.

Pour into the prepared loaf pan(s) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes for one large pan, less time for smaller pans. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 50 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 12

Each serving, using pecans, contains 197 Calories (kcal); 4g Total Fat; (17% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 39g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 282mg Sodium; 4g Fiber

Each serving, without nuts, contains 163 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (3% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 38g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 282mg Sodium; 4g Fiber

Let me take a minute to thank all of you wonderful readers and fellow bloggers for making 2006 a great blogging year for me. I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to get to know you through your comments, emails, and blogs, and I look forward to what 2007 will bring. Happy New Year to you all!

Comments

Charlotte
August 14, 2009 at 9:09 pm

just made this on a whim – it was dense and delicious, though it turned out kind of crumbly and therefore not as pretty as yours ;). could it be because i used a combination of ww/ap flours instead of www as recommended?

SusanV
August 14, 2009 at 10:11 pm

Hi Charlotte, glad you liked it, despite the crumblyness. I find that whenever I change the ratio/type of flour, the results can really vary, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was the reason. I hope it didn't detract too much from your enjoyment of the bread.

amby
September 26, 2009 at 5:20 pm

Hey Susan!! I made this today using grapefruit puree and even added some blackberries and it turned out great. Thanks for another great recipe.
I live in biloxi my husband is a marine so we moved here for his school like a month ago from MD. Do you have any advice on where to get local vegan food, ect. here? Any input will be greatly appreciated. The closest market is in New Orleans almost 2 hrs away and w/ my husband being in school, 1 car, and 2 babies- traveling a long way for groceries isnt doable.

Renee Lynn
November 23, 2009 at 12:31 pm

Just tried out this recipe today and I loved it! I didn't have raisins so I substituted with cranberries instead-which of course was really good too! Thanks for the recipe =)

Sebastien Rahman
February 21, 2010 at 8:22 pm

Hi,

I came across your blog when I was looking for healthy and tasty food ideas that even a kitchen klutz like myself could make. I really enjoyed your recipe for Sunshine Citrus Bread! It was fragrant and my guests absolutely enjoyed the sweet and zesty flavors. I'm a personal trainer, and I recommend great receipes to my clients…they will certainly hear of this one!

Thanks for the great ideas! Keep them coming 🙂

Sincerely,

Sebastien Rahman

jelly3
June 18, 2010 at 7:43 am

Although I have a great love for citrus fruits, I didn’t think any bread made out of lemons or other sour fruits would turn out to be such a decadence, but this has certainly surprised me. please alert me by email when other citrus recipes are posted.
thankyou 🙂

alua
December 30, 2011 at 10:28 am

That looks like a wonderful last recipe of the year. Bookmarking it (-:

I just want to say thank you for all the recipes and blog posts all year. Your blog is such a great resource, and whenever I don’t want to improvise or am uninspired by my cookbooks, my first stop is here. And whenever someone I know becomes interested in veganism or vegan cooking, the first blog I share with them is yours!

Looking forward to plenty more of Fatfreevegan in 2012!

Kristi Rimkus
December 30, 2011 at 10:32 am

I can’t say I’ve ever seen calamondins locally. I’ll have to see if I can find them. Have you tried whole wheat pastry flour? It’s my favorite for baked goods. They turn out just as light and tender and refined white flour. Lovely recipe!

Jen
January 20, 2012 at 4:07 pm

Gonna try!

Jacqui
January 24, 2012 at 9:32 pm

Turned our delicious! Just had some for dinner…oops! I didn’t have any applesauce so I subbed in some mashed banana and also added some carob.

Texas Ann
March 28, 2014 at 7:39 pm

Just made this. Wow. So easy and so good. The only thing I changed was using half sugar and half non calorie sweetener. I also used whole wheat flour that I grind myself.
I made the blueberry banana bread a few weeks ago. Also very good.

Thanks for the great recipes and photos.

Texas Ann
March 29, 2014 at 2:40 pm

I was cutting a fresh pineapple this morning and thought I would try with pineapple. Omitted cloves, ginger and raisins, added 1 teaspoon vanilla. Used 1/2 cup truvia instead of sugar. Added 1/4 cup walnuts (all I had). Used So Delicious Coconut Milk (45 calories per cup). It was great.

Sunshine Citrus Bread