An easy quick bread made with orange juice and zest, whole wheat and unbleached flours, ricotta cheese and pecans. Great for breakfast or a quick snack.
*See Kitchen Notes for additional information, substitutions or links.
Prepare a large bread pan by coating it with butter or spraying with oil.
Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Gently stir and fold until all ingredients are well combined. Batter will be quite thick.
Transfer batter to the prepared bread pan and place in the center of the preheated oven.
Bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until done, To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the bread. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, baked for another 8 - 10 minutes. (Higher altitudes require a longer cook time.)
When done, remove the bread from the oven and let rest in the pan for about 5 minutes. Go around the bread with a knife to separate it from the bread pan.
Carefully turn the bread over onto a protected hand and tap the pan to release bread if needed.
Flip bread back over onto a cooling rack and cool to room temperature before wrapping. Since just the smell of the bread will drive you to taste it immediately, please let it rest for at least 5 minutes out of the pan before cutting it. After that, enjoy to your heart's delight.
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour - I like using this flour because it is lighter than regular whole wheat. If you don't have any, then use 1/2 cup whole wheat and increase the unbleached flour to 1 1/2 cups.
Orange juice and zest - If using a seedless orange (e.g., Cara Cara), add the pulp that is released when juicing rather than discarding it.
Ricotta Cheese - If you don't have a full cup of ricotta, then use plain Greek yogurt to get a full cup.
Pecans - No pecans, then substitute with walnuts or pistachios.
Baking time - Because i live above 5000 ft, this bread takes a full 60 minutes to cook. For lower elevations, test for doneness at 50 minutes then add more time if needed.
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen