Sour Dough: Michael Pollan's Whole-Wheat Country Loaf

I did a lot of cooking this past weekend. Over the two days, I made: Moroccan beef chili, couscous, roast chicken, scalloped root vegetables, braised red cabbage, chicken stock, eggless banana bread, and ginger bug (my latest science project, in which I try to catch wild yeast with ginger-sugar water, from which I intend to make ginger beer!).

Oh, and Michael Pollan’s Whole-Wheat Country Loaf. That’s right, people--my starter works! I successfully baked two loaves of whole wheat sourdough bread with it.

The Evolution of Apple Cake

It all started with this recipe for Crunchy Topped Whole Wheat Plum Cake. I liked the look of it. I liked the fact that it used whole wheat flour, because I’m always seeking ways to make both delicious and healthy (or not unhealthy) things. Those couple of tablespoons of Cognac or brandy – I bet they would combine with that nutty whole wheat goodness in a delightful way.

Plus, I had a ton of apples at home. Yes, apples – not plums. The minute I saw this recipe, I knew I was going to make it with apples. This summer’s fruit share has given us pounds and pounds of apples, which haunt the back corners of the fridge. The early apples were mealy, not good for eating fresh, but I knew I could bake with them, so they stayed. During the heat of the summer, though, there was no way I was turning on the oven. Most evenings I tried to avoid even using a burner.

The apples waited.

I knew the cake would be delicious with apples. There was nothing about this cake that needed the flavor of plums (although I’m sure it’s also delicious with plums). So last week I whipped up a cake, following the recipe exactly, only replacing the apples with plums.

It was… good. Fine. Solidly okay. Apple slices, of course, are less juicy than slices of plum, so they didn’t really need to be tossed with flour. Sprinkled on top of the cake, they didn't cook down so much as dry out. But the cake element was yum and tasted great with the apples.

Last night, the air was cool. I put on a sweater and read outside until the light failed, then came indoors and poured a couple of fingers of Snap into a glass over ice. It tasted of warm ginger and molasses. I felt like baking.

This time I tweaked the recipe. We were out of brandy, so I substituted in a vanilla liquor and cut the vanilla. Chopped the apples into small chunks and folded them into the batter before spreading it into the pan. I also used a smaller pan to get a thicker cake. Finally, a handful of chopped walnuts scattered the top, and over them, the dusting of sugar.

I considered adding crystallized ginger or some ground cardamom, but I didn’t want to go overboard. I do think that either would have been delicious – perhaps next time.

There will definitely be a next time. In fact, I may just make this once a week. First, there are all those apples to use up. And second, it’s wonderful. It tastes like autumn in the best possible way, warm and wholesome and sweet and good. Not too sweet, it works for breakfast, tea, or dessert. Success.

Whole Wheat Apple Cake

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more to grease pan

3 medium apples, pitted and chopped

1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy (or vanilla liquor)

1 teaspoon vanilla (eliminate if using vanilla liquor)

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

1/3 cup chopped walnuts, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9-by-9-inch baking pan.

Combine the whole-wheat flour with the baking powder and kosher salt in a bowl.

In another bowl, beat together butter, ½ cup sugar, booze and vanilla (if using) until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until thoroughly combined.

Add half the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Pour in the milk and continue beating, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Add the apples and fold them into the batter with a spatula. There will seem to be a very proportion of apples to batter.

Scrape the dough into the pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the walnuts and then the Demerara sugar on top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before serving.