Lightly Spiced Maple Syrup Bread
I don’t know if beer is exactly healthy, but let’s say it is. It would mean that this bread is pure health food. Sure, I’ll go with that. When I made Honey Beer Bread, I was so pleased with the taste, texture, and ease of the one-bowl, no-kneading recipe, I knew I had to experiment more. This maple bread is vegan and refined sugar-free. That’s right, there are no eggs in this fluffy-rising loaf with a soft, moist, open crumb. The natural sweetness from the sweet potato, along with maple syrup and robust dark molasses, provide a gentle and subtle sweetness.
What Does the Bread Taste Like?
This loaf has a firmer outer crust, with a soft, ridiculously moist, dense yet springy interior. The sweet potato lends tons of moisture and slight texture, reminiscent of the texture you’d find in a grainy or wheaty loaf, minus any whole grains or whole wheat flour used. The spices and maple flavor are present, but on the fainter side. Normally I go very heavy-handed with spices, but kept them to a modest level. It makes excellent toast, and I bet it would have made excellent French toast, but the loaf was devoured in record time. My family commented on how soft and moist the bread is, and both of them scarfed down 2 slices of toast. Then they asked for 2 more slices, each. There went the loaf.
Maple Bread Ingredients
To make this simple quick bread with maple syrup, you’ll need:
Cooked, mashed sweet potatoOilMolasses Pure maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup)Ground cinnamon, nutmeg & clovesSaltAll-purpose flourBaking powderBeer
What Type of Beer Should I Use?
I used one bottle of Stella Artois, chosen by default. Use what you enjoy. I’m in Aruba and selected it from a local grocery store because it was 12-ounces and many local brews are bottled smaller. The label was in English and I could read it, and I’ve seen people drink it in bars in the U.S., so I figured it wasn’t awful.
How to Make Maple Bread
If you’re an experienced baker like I am, the prep time for this maple syrup bread takes about 5 minutes. Experienced or not, this is a very easy recipe! Here’s an overview of how the bread is made:
Recipe Variations to Try
Make it savory: You can take this bread more savory by skipping the molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and replacing with garlic powder, onion powder, curry, seasoning salt, or a favorite grill seasoning. I suggest agave instead of maple because it’s cleaner tasting and won’t compete as much with the savory elements. Swap the sweet potato: I imagine you could use about 1/2 cup pumpkin puree if you have any lingering and begging to be used. Swap the flour: I haven’t tested using whole wheat flour, but I wouldn’t use more than 50% or the bread could be very dense and/or not rise well. I have no idea if gluten-free flour blends will work.
Ways to Eat This Bread
You can enjoy this maple bread in savory or sweet recipes. Try it:
As toastAs sandwich bread In french toast or french toast casserole Topped with jam and / or butter With maple butter
More Easy Quick Bread Recipes:
Cinnamon and Spice Sweet Potato Bread — Sweet potatoes do a wonderful job of keeping this bread extremely soft and moist. It’s almost like cake it’s so soft, springy, and bouncy! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Applesauce Bread with Cinnamon Honey Butter – This applesauce bread is packed with fall flavors and comes together quickly. I serve mine with homemade honey butter, because why not? Sweet Potato Cornbread — Homemade cornbread just got better because it’s jazzed up with mashed sweet potatoes, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice! Honey Beer Bread — The easiest beer bread ever! No kneading, no yeast, and guaranteed soft and fluffy results every time!
