By Alaina Coffey, Senior Dietetics Student, Sargent College

At last week’s Test Kitchen students gathered to bake delicious cinnamon raisin bread and enjoy multiple rounds of Bananagrams, a favorite anagram game among Test Kitchen goers. The recipe includes the option to make bread with butter or with vegetable oil, so we baked two loaves of each type. While the bread made with butter rather than oil had thicker batter, students did not notice any significant difference in taste between bread made with oil or butter. Students’ reviews included that they enjoyed the subtly crunchy texture of the bread’s crust and liked how moist the bread was. One student admitted the bread was not as sweet as she had envisioned, as everyone has different sweetness preferences. However, I thought this bread was impressively sweet and decadent, and when tasting it I could not tell that it contained no added sugar. The raisins, unsweetened applesauce, and a small amount of pure maple syrup contribute a perfect amount of sweetness to this recipe.

When looking at the recipe, we notice that cinnamon raisin bread made with vegetable oil has slightly higher total calories and fat than bread made with butter, but much less saturated fat. So, you must be wondering, why might the Sargent Choice dietitians choose to make bread with vegetable oil instead of butter? When one tablespoon of canola oil is compared to one tablespoon of butter, canola oil has slightly higher total calories and fat, but very low saturated fat, while the majority of total calories and fat in butter come from saturated fat. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend keeping saturated fat to less than ten percent of total caloric intake in order to maintain healthy blood cholesterol levels. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats contribute the majority of total calories and fat in canola oil and most vegetable oils. Heart-healthy unsaturated fats may reduce blood cholesterol when they replace saturated fat in the diet. While the Dietary Guidelines recommend that fat contribute no more than thirty percent of total calories in the diet, it is not only the amount of fat that is important to consider, but also the type of fat. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats should replace saturated fats whenever possible. Thus, in a “health-ified” version of cinnamon raisin bread we would likely choose to use vegetable oil over butter.

This is a simple recipe with quick preparation time, so try out SCTK cinnamon raisin bread at home. It is a healthier take on the typical quick bread that is perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert!

Sargent Choice
Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Recipe modified from 100 Days of Real Food Cookbook

Yield: 1 loaf/12 slices (3/4” thick slice)

Ingredients

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter or ½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
⅓ cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs, beaten
¾ cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly oil 9”x5” loaf pan with butter or oil and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. Using a fork, mix in eggs, applesauce, oil/melted butter, and syrup until well combined, taking care not to overmix. Gently fold in the raisins.
4. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 45-55 minutes.

Note: This is a favorite recipe of Sargent Choice Nutrition Center dietitian, Laura Judd, who makes if for her 2 little boys, ages 2 and 4. She said it’s a weekly staple in their house, and said it’s particularly tasty made into French toast!

Nutrition Facts per serving w/butter/oil