Dutch Ontbijtkoek

Christmas baking is over and 2014 is almost over.  Where did the year go?  I look forward to trying many new recipes in 2015 - some with the help of The Daring Bakers' challenges. Always interesting, sometimes very challenging.

December's challenge was presented by Andrea and she gave us a choice of Dutch quickbreads. I chose this one called Ontbijkoek from The DutchTable.com.

Ontbijkoek (don't ask me how to pronounce it, but it's literally translated as "breakfast cake") is a staple of Holland and The Netherlands and there are quite a few recipes to choose from, ranging from very sweet to sugarless.

This recipe uses rye flour and I thought that would be interesting to try. To me, bread made with rye is usually thick and tough with a flavor I don't really prefer. This one, though is different!

It ends up (thanks to the molasses and honey) being a dense, very sweet loaf. I was surprised at the wonderfully moist texture, as it doesn't call for eggs or any oil/butter.

Next time, I'll probably use less molasses and honey because it's almost too sweet for me, but it was nice warmed up a little with butter or cream cheese (along with coffee to cut the sweetness).

There are really interesting recipes over at TheDutchTable.com. I also learned a little about Dutch cooking from this challenge.

I love seeing the different flavor combinations from these countries! Stretch your apron strings and try a new recipe from around the world!

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Dutch Ontbijtkoek

Yield: 12 slices

A dense, sweet Dutch quickbread.

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Ingredients

• 1 C. rye flour
• 1 C. all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• ¼  tsp. each of  ginger, coriander and ground cloves
• ½ C. dark brown sugar
• ¼ C. dark molasses
• ½ C. honey
• 1 C. milk
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  
2. In a bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder and spices.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, dark molasses, honey, milk and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture and  mix on low until just combined.  
4. Bake for 70-80 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
5. Cool on a rack, then wrap in aluminum foil or plastic wrap to store.  Serve with cream cheese or butter.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

The original recipe called for a little cardamom, too, so if you have it, use it.

Next time I will probable half the molasses and honey, as it was a little too sweet for me.

Wrap it well to store.  The author says wrapping it after cooled will make an "extra sticky outside crust" which apparently is a good thing.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 172Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 150mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 2gSugar: 24gProtein: 3g

Nutrition Values are Approximate