Recipe: Whole Wheat Spice Bread

Whole Wheat Spice Bread
From: The Complete Book of Breads by Bernard Clayton (1973), Simon and Schuster

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or other shortening
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Baking Pan:
One medium (8-1/2 X 4-1/2) loaf pan, greased or Teflon, metal or glass. If the latter, reduce oven heat 25 degrees. This loaf has a tendency to stick in the pan. Line the bottom (and the sides, if you wish) with a piece of wax paper which is coated lightly with oil or butter.

Preparation:
In a bowl sift or stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon. Measure in the whole wheat. In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar. Break in one egg at a time, beating each well.

Alternately, pour and stir the milk and the dry ingredients into the bowl with the egg mixture. Add vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth, and add walnuts.

Forming:
Pour batter into pan. Push the batter into the corners and leave a slight depression down the center to offset oven expansion. Set aside for 5 minutes while the oven preheats to 350 degrees.

Baking:
1 hour. Place pan in oven and bake until the crust is deep brown. Test with a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf. If it comes out clean and dry, the bread is baked. If batter clings to the pick, return the loaf to the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Test again.

Final Step:
Remove bread from the oven. (This loaf is fragile when first taken from the oven.) Leave in the pan for 5 or 10 minutes, then turn the pan on its side and gently pull out the loaf by tugging on the wax paper or coaxing it with a metal spatula.