If you have a juicer or make pressed juice at home, you may have wondered what to do with the pulp that is left behind.
Well, you can add it into smoothies, make dog treats with it, add it to a compost pile or even your veggie burgers, but if I could offer my personal favorite suggestion… it would be to make this pulp quick bread.
Similar to zucchini or banana bread, this pulp quick bread is a non-yeasted bread that is super moist with a crisp outer crust and much lower sugar content than your typical quick bread. Using apple sauce and whatever pulp mixture you have on hand, this loaf can be flavored in so many different ways.
Today, I am using a mixture of pineapple and orange pulp after making a batch of my pineapple orange juice and it turned out beautifully. Naturally sweet and just a little tart. This pulp quick bread is perfect with some sweet cream butter, a dollop of greek yogurt or au naturale.
Let’s get started…
Begin by combining 2 large eggs with 1/4 cup of apple sauce, 1/2 cup of melted butter and a teaspoon of vanilla extract in a large bowl. Whisk until everything is completely combined and then add in 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar. This is about half of the sugar typically called for in quick bread recipes, but it is enough. There is natural sweetness from the fruit pulp and the apple sauce, but if you are using vegetable pulp instead, you can add another 1/4 cup of both sugars if you prefer your quick bread on the sweeter side.
Add 235 grams of all purpose flour (or about 2 cups of all purpose flour spooned and leveled), 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix until just combined.
You will need 1 1/2 cups of pulp for this recipe. If this pulp came out of a juicer, it will be good to go, but if you pressed it through a mesh strainer, be sure to squeeze as much juice out of it as possible. This bread will be very moist from the apple sauce and butter, but if the pulp has a lot of juice left in it, it can prevent the bread from fully baking through leaving it gummy inside.
Fold the pulp into the batter until it is evenly distributed and then transfer it into a greased and parchment lined loaf pan. You can use a 9″x5″ or an 8″x4″, whichever you have on hand. I am using a 9″x5″ for today’s loaf and it took 70 minutes to fully bake, so if you are using an 8″x4″ loaf pan, you may need to bake the loaf for a few more minutes.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 70 minutes or until a toothpick will come out of the center of the loaf clean. The loaf should feel firm and completely set in the center. This is a very moist quick bread, so it will take some time to bake fully through, but don’t pull it out too early. This bread has a lovely texture when it is fully baked, but it will be gummy in the middle if you pull it out too early.
See how the edges are deeply golden and the top looks dry with tiny pin holes? This is what you are looking for.
Transfer the loaf pan onto a cooling rack or cutting board to cool for about 5 minutes before transferring the loaf out of the pan and directly onto the cooling rack to cool fully.
Note: Similar to so many other bread recipes, it is best to let this quick bread cool before slicing into it. There is a lot of moisture in hot bread when you pull it out of the oven and this moisture redistributes evenly throughout the loaf as it cools down to room temperature. When you slice into a piping hot loaf, it interrupts this process leaving some areas moist and others dense or even dry. Moral of the story… give it time to cool off before digging in.
Once your loaf is cool, use a sharp or serrated knife to cut yourself a few nice, thick slices. I like to grate a little fresh orange zest over some sweet cream butter and smother it over my slice.
Brew yourself a cup of coffee or some orange tea and enjoy! This is by far the most delicious way to utilize that leftover pulp you have from your morning cup of juice.
Pulp Bread
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup of natural unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/2 cup of butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar (tightly packed)
- 235 grams of all purpose flour, (2 cups spooned and leveled)
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 1/2 cups of strained fruit and/or vegetable pulp
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside for now
- Combine 2 large eggs with 1/4 cup of natural unsweetened apple sauce, 1/2 cup of melted butter and a teaspoon of vanilla extract in a large bowl
- Add 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and mix until completely combined
- Stir in 1 1/2 cups of pulp until evenly distributed
- Add 235 grams of all purpose flour (2 cups spooned and leveled), 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix until just combined
- Transfer the batter into the parchment lined loaf pan
- Bake in a 350° oven for about 70 minutes or until a toothpick will come out of the center of the loaf clean
- Allow the bread to cool for 5 minutes in the loaf pan and then transfer it onto a cooling rack to cool before slicing
