Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Lemon Lime Yogurt Bread

OMGoodness this bread is so moist, so unbelievably moist and delicious and just perfect.... well I ate half the loaf (good thing I run!).  No butter or oil (yes NO fats added) just plain old yogurt and love. 



The thing is, I am putting the family on a budget. To rephrase, I am trying to cut back our grocery bills and other unnecessary spending in hopes that one day before we retire, if we retire, we might have a house and actually pay off our student loans. And in this day and age, one can hope.

So in doing this I replaced many of my favorite items on the grocery list with new things I was willing to try. Today's recipe came to me because of this idea... I knew it would happen, but with change came that surprise you get when you eat something and immediately regret the decision... Ok let me explain:

One item I love is 0% fat greek yogurt. As a new mom and strict vegetarian, the protein is easy and takes no time to prepare. That said, I normally buy myself yogurt that is roughly $7 a container (don't judge, it's a big container).  Well, next to my yogurt there was an organic store brand yogurt for only $2.50. Much cheaper, and although it wasn't greek, it was plain and lowfat, it didn't have much sugar added, and though it was half the protein it was a third the price so I figured:
"Why not Aimee? The worse case scenario is you just don't like it, and it's so much cheaper, what a steal!"
Well, I hated it. I still hate it.

I will most definitely hate it tomorrow. 

And the next day.

Straight up Yuck. If I had Mr. Yuck stickers I would have placed one on it and returned it to the fridge.

But I couldn't just throw it away because that would totally negate the budget friendly idea, and there was no way I was going to give it to my son because it was sour tasting and he is still so sweet and innocent being 9 months old, so I figured I could make something with it. Hopefully that would hide the plain bitter yogurt flavor and give me ideas to make things with what we have around the house.

And so I sat and thought about what I would make. Yogurt is used in so many things.... Dip? Dressing? Marinade? Maybe a Greek sauce or Spicy Curry... there are endless possibilities but nothing was doing it for me. And then I remembered I bought some lemons and limes for detox water - and here's the kicker that still gets me - I figured I could use those to make a dessert bread!  Oh the irony!

Well I think I might actually buy this yogurt again. Because even though it tasted like total yuck, like straight up no, the bread it made is pure joy - pure romance - absolute pleasure for your mouth!

Here is the yogurt...
And what the hell. Here's my recipe:

Lemon Lime Yogurt Bread
What You Need:
1 1/2 cups Flour
1 1/3 cups Sugar
2 Limes
2 Lemons
2 tsp Baking Soda (I like the reduced sodium aluminum free)
3 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Plain Yogurt
1 cup Powdered Sugar*
*you may need more depending on the desired glaze consistency

To Start:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease and flour a 9X5 bread baking dish. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan. Why? The parchment paper is wonderful for breads and cakes to stop the bottom from sticking. We've all had those moments when the sides came clean, we got excited, and then we served puzzle cake.

Zest the two lemons and limes and place the zest in a small bowl. Next, juice the lemons and limes and place this in a separate cup or bowl. You should have roughly 1/2 cup of juice from the citrus, however if you are a bit short it will be OK. Worse comes to shove juice another lemon or we can use a small amount of water later on.

In a large bowl whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup of the sugar, the 3 eggs, the zest from the lemons and limes, and the vanilla. Slowly add in the flour and baking powder. You can sift the flour and baking powder for a smoother lighter bread, but it's not going to be the end of the world if you do not have a sifter. It is nice, however, to invest in one. They do wonderful things for baking.


Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, as the bread is baking add the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar to a small saucepan with 1/3 cup of the citrus juice. You will need at least 2 tbsp of the citrus juice for the glaze later on, so if you are short here use a small amount of water. Or later on you can make a plain glaze instead of a citrus one.


Either way, heat the citrus juice and sugar mixture, stirring, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.

Once the cake is done baking, remove the pan from the oven but leave the bread in the baking dish. Pour the simple syrup you made with the sugar and citrus juice over the bread. Let this loaf cool completely.


Once cooled, remove the bread from the pan. Easiest way - Flip our onto a pan and then flip it back over with a second pan/ plate. if you need to be sure to peel the parchment paper off, though it most likely stuck to the baking dish.

And now for the final touch! Whisk together the remaining citrus juice with the powdered sugar until you get a glaze consistency you like. More sugar will thicken the glaze, more juice will thin it out. The thickc the better in my book!

Drizzle the glaze over the bread and enjoy! I am not joking when I say this bread is so moist it will take you by storm. You may find yourself eating the entire loaf. You may light a candle to hide the fact that you just baked so that you can enjoy the masterpiece alone.

If you do that, and need candles that are actually worth your money and time, I recommend these (yes thats a link you click on it... or don't. I'm not you. I just like things that are worth my time and don't burn my wallet.)

I encourage storing the bread in the fridge to keep it cool and moist.

Enjoy!

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