Loganbread question

I don't think that it should taste like brownies since there is no cocoa. The consistency is sort of like brownies, but I always describe it as like holiday fruitcake. But then that is understandable since I typically load it up with extra fruit bits. Yes, lemon zest is legal. When I am really working at it, I will get at least five different types of fruit in a batch.

I think the key to it is in getting just exactly the right amount of moisture in the mix, and then baking out just the right amount. Before you store it in plastic bags, you want the moisture to be just perfect.

One time a friend of mine wanted to adapt the recipe to make it more wholesome or something, leave out half of the sugar, leave out some of the goodness, add in some other organic jazz… it didn't work out at all.

–B.G.–

You might like this go around ….. if not I have two others.

Logan Bread
Servings 36

Recipe:
3 C whole wheat flour
3 C AP flour
2/3 C powdered milk
2 tsp salt
tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

lightly toast:
1 C old fashioned oats
1/2 C wheat germ
2/3 C chopped nuts (I've been using pecans)

1/2 C dark brown sugar
1 C chopped dried fruit (this batch was half strawberries and half dates)
1/2 C melted butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 C honey, warmed
~1 C warm water (this batch used about 1.25 C)

Instructions:
Mix the dry ingredients together in a very large bowl, aerating well. Toast the oats, wheat germ, and nuts in a 350F oven for 5 minutes, stir/flip, and toast another 3 minutes. (Tip: don't go too long; if you smell the nuts with the oven closed, they're burned.) Add to dry mix. Add the sugar and fruit and mix well.

Melt the butter; meanwhile, whisk the eggs. Heat the honey. (Tip: this is the best time to grease the pan since you're about to knead.) Add the remainder of the wet ingredients, reserving some of the water in case less than a cup is enough. Knead. (I manage this one handed; if you have a stand mixer, I'm jealous.) The dough should be thick and sticky; you will get club hand if you're doing this by hand.

Grease a 9"x13" baking dish and spread out best you can. Bake at 350F for 40 to 50 minutes. 40 minutes will leave it moister, 50 minutes will make it dry enough to last a respectable amount of time without freezing or refrigeration. I'm assuming 60 minutes makes it bone dry, good for longevity, bad for taste.

Totals (not portioned out): 6624 cal, 171.2g fat, 1200g carb of which 98.9g fiber and 377.4g sugar, 161.7g protein.

In 36 pieces, each piece then: 184 cal, 4.76g fat, 33.3g carb of which 2.75g fiber and 10.5g sugar, 4.5g protein.

Edit: Total weight 74.6 oz not completely cool or dry. 8 pieces from the center in a freezer bag: 16.2 oz. So admittedly, below the ideal calories per ounce. But delicious! And this is the wettest batch I've made yet; the center was still nice and moist like banana bread should be.

@bob Yeah, by "like brownies" I meant the consistency, not chocolate – but that does give one ideas! I was worried they were supposed to come out thicker – I have a few books on baking, but have proved time and again that (except for mixes) I SUCK at it. Baking is one of those things where my usual style of winging it doesn't always work out.

I definitely used a very small amount of water. As soon as all the molten sugar cooled they got hard quite fast – even before drying out. I think all the solidifying sugar may paradoxically be part of the preservation. Also the slight taste of caramelized sugars reminds me of the holidays, and my mom's "experiments" with pie cooking. When I bagged them they were crunchy, but not yet a danger to my teeth. Do you ever need to "rehydrate" them if they are too hard? No sure how that would be done.

I agree that trying to make these healthy is probably misguided – like adding vitamins to butter. I wouldn't mind them having a bit more protein.

While being perfect as a trail snack, I would say that in term of day-to-day life they are evil incarnate!

I look at recipes like this, and sigh…I don't think it would be possible to make Loganbread gluten-free (wouldn't hold together) and dairy-free (would mess with the fat content, although coconut…). The biggest thing I miss about eating gluten is having tortillas that hold together and don't mold. The gluten-free tortillas *all* rip when you roll them around peanut butter, and I end up licking the sticky jelly off my fingers anyway.

If your logan bread seems too hard, afterward, then maybe you baked it too hot. If you are sure that you baked it correctly, then try adding a little extra oil into the next batch. Water will bake out, obviously, but oil doesn't, or at least not the same way.

Sure, it is OK to fool with the recipe to suit your own tastes. However, I caution you to make only small changes, and only change again once you've sampled the entire batch. If you make big step changes, you may regret it. By the way, this is not a good activity if you are on a strict diet for weight loss.

As to the anti-gluten idea, that's OK. I have a friend with a gluten problem, so I am always looking for solutions. Quinoa doesn't have gluten, so that is a possibility. Instead of trying to work with raw quinoa, I would try quinoa flakes. The flakes were in a recipe for quinoa cookies that included rice flour, and they turned out well (because they are full of peanut butter and margarine). My anti-gluten friend liked them as well. The problem is that I don't know exactly how I would substitute the quinoa for wheat flour and still get it to turn out right.

–B.G.–

The logan bread recipe above looks pretty close to a typical quick bread and there are a number of different GF baking mixes that seem like they would work (King Arthur Flour has at least two different ones).

You would need to make some adjustments to the moisture and the amount of leavening, but figuring this out ought be be tasty.

Happy baking and hiking!

There are a variety of recipes out there if you look for "Logan Bread" – and others if you look for "Hudson's Bay Bread" which is usually pretty similar

This recipe seems like it would lend itself well to almond flour. They might be a little more dense, but would be adding protein and fat, too. I may have to try this before my big hike in July!