Blueberry-Lemon Muesli Bread

I received a beautiful bag of Trader Joe's Blueberry Muesli this holiday season (see below). For anyone who is not familiar with muesli, muesli is sort of like an unbaked granola. It isn't as crunchy and overly sweet as some granolas tend to be. Muesli is fresher and more organic/raw-tasting.



I enjoyed my blueberry muesli in soymilk topped with a slice banana. This was a delicious breakfast, but I could not help but wonder, "Would muesli not taste awesome as part of a muffin or breakfast break recipe?". I instantly raced to the computer after breakfast and searched the internet for muesli-containing muffin recipes. I came across a simple muesli muffin recipe from "Something About Penguins" (http://lentilpenguins.blogspot.com/2008/02/muesli-muffins.html). This recipe was adapted from a muesli bread recipe from "Baking Bites" (http://bakingbites.com/2006/02/blueberry-muesli-bread/). My muesli bread recipe combines aspects of both recipes and includes my own little twists.

As I said previously, I used a commercially produced muesli (Trader Joe's Blueberry Muesli). If I had to make this muesli bread again, I would probably throw together a home-made muesli. My dream muesli recipe would consist of oats, sliced almonds, sunflowed/pumpkin seeds, ground flax, raisins, cinnamon, etc. Feel free to mix up your own muesli to use for this recipe.



BLUEBERRY-LEMON MUESLI BRREAD (VEGAN)

DRY INGREDIENTS
-1 1/2 cups muesli
-1 1/2 cups King Arthur's white whole wheat flour (or regular whole wheat flour)
-1/4-1/2 cup raisins
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt

WET INGREDIENTS
-1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (I just ground up a small apple in my food processor)
-Zest of 1 lemon
-Juice of 1 lemon plus enough soy milk to measure 1 1/2 cups of liquid (This will make the soymilk thicken/slightly curdle. This is okay!)
-2 Tablespoons canola oil

OPTIONAL TOPPING
-about 2 Tablespoons oats

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a standard-sized metal loaf pan with canola oil.

In a medium bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. In a separate larger bowl, mix together all wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients all at once, gently folding until combined. Pour batter into greased loaf pan, and spread batter into pan with a spatula. Sprinkle with oats, if desired.

Bake bread in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick/knife comes out clean. Place an aluminum foil tent over the bread about 15 minutes before the bread is finished in order to prevent over-browning. Nobody likes burnt bread!

Cool bread in loaf pan on a wire cooling rack. When cooled to room temperature, carefully remove bread from pan. The end product is a yummy breakfast bread with a crusty exterior and a deliciously moist interior. The lemon really adds a fun touch! Orange would be a great substitute, also. Enjoy bread plain, slathered with almond or peanut butter, or topped with jam.