It’s officially November, which means Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a bunch of other holiday festivities are just a few weeks away! It also means that you’ll probably end up baking…a lot!
I love baking, but I don’t always have the time I need; so instead, I make double {or even triple} batches of our favorite foods. This saves me lots of time in the kitchen and assures we’ll always have something delicious in the freezer.
The only problem is, I often double SOME of the ingredients but forget to double ALL of them {mainly because I’m trying to do 16 other things while baking}. So, my results are less-than-desirable.
Please tell me I’m not the only one who’s ever done this!!
Anyway, I recently came up with a way to simplify “batch cooking”.
I use 2 bowls!
First I measure and add the wet ingredients into each bowl…
Then the dry ingredients…
This way, I know that each batch has exactly the right amount of each ingredient — and I don’t have to try to remember if I did my calculations correctly or not! {I’ll leave the math to my husband}
The best part is — your results should be the same every time!
So pretty!
Using two {or three} bowls is just one thing I do to simplify my batch cooking. It’s saves me time, reduces the potential for error, and only results in one extra bowl to stick in the dishwasher.
Oh, and here’s my recipe for the Cinnamon bread pictured above. {The recipe is for a single batch}
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 c. milk
- 1/2 c. vegetable oil
- 1/2 c. applesauce
- 2 eggs
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 3 c. all-purpose flour
- 2 c. sugar
- 1 (5.1 ounce) pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1 1/2 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. salt
- 2 t. ground cinnamon
- 2 T. cinnamon sugar (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and grease two 9″ loaf pans.
- In a large bowl, mix the milk, oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- Stir the flour mixture into the milk mixture until smooth and pour batter into the 2 pans.
- If desired, sprinkle 1 T. of cinnamon sugar on top of each loaf.
- Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean.
Bake a double-batch for your holiday parties this year — only 53 days until Christmas!
Visit my virtual recipe box for more simple, delicious, family friendly, recipes!
F Sethman says
Could I possibly make this into 8 mini loaves? I’d love to add to my bread gifts this spring.
Thanks for posting this great recipe
Andrea says
you’d only get 5 mini loaves or 2 full-size loaves.
Mike Fye says
When I do these, before I put the batter in the pan I spray the pan with butter
spray then sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the bottom and sides. This helps the
loaf to come out without sticking AND it puts a coating of cinnamon sugar
on the loaf…. delicious!
Andrea says
great idea — thanks for sharing!
Jo says
Ok, I’m trying this tonight…. Above it specifically says the recipe is for a single batch. It fills the loaf pan nearly to the brim, I’m wondering if it is in fact a double recipe? Makes 2 loaves? I will likely have batter all over the bottom of my oven soon.
Andrea says
yes, the recipe is for a single batch, but the directions state to grease TWO loaf pans — so you’ll definitely want to use 2 pans. A double batch would make 4 loaves.
Jo says
The recipe says 2 eggs, but I notice there are 3 eggs in each bowl pictured. Did you make 1 & 1/2 of the recipe in each bowl or is the number of eggs listed incorrect? Thanks.
Andrea says
yikes — I have no idea! I wrote that post 7 years ago, so I very well could have been making extra and just happened to snap the pictures of 3 eggs.
That said, I’d follow the written recipe 🙂
Brittany says
Is this supposed to say 1.5 oz pudding?
Andrea says
nope, 5.1 ounce pudding — it’s the bigger box with 6 servings.
Jasmin says
What could I sub for the applesauce?
Andrea says
just use oil (like vegetable oil). Applesauce is simply a healthier substitution for oil in most baking recipes 🙂
Carlye Rankin says
This cinnamon bread is SO yummy. I made this recipe yesterday and it was so easy and made the house smell wonderful. I am eating it now for breakfast and my husband took some to work with him.
For the cinnamon sugar on top, I used Warm Up Mulling Spice made by Tastefully Simple! So delicious! http://www.tastefullysimple.com/web/crankin
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Marni says
That looks so scrumptious! Mmmmm…
Kim says
Great idea but how did you end up with 5 loaves from doubling a 2 loaf recipe…?
Andrea says
Kim…you make me laugh. I figured someone would ask that question!
I actually made MORE than a double batch…and I thought 5 loaves looked better than just 4!!
Bette I says
Does the cinnamon sugar get sprinkled on top of the loaves before baking!
Andrea says
Good question Bette,
I do not sprinkle extra cinnamon and sugar on top…but I know others who do — so you can do it either way. Whatever you choose, I guarantee it will be delicious!!
Debbie says
Hi, love your web site!! In the recipe it calls for 2 Tbs. of cinnamon suger. What do we do with that?
Andrea says
Thanks Debbie, The cinnamon sugar is optional and you can sprinkle it on top of each loaf before you bake it!
mom2fur says
Oh, my gosh, your kitchen must smell like a restaurant in heaven when you make that bread!
I don’t batch cook very much, but I do something similar to this. If I’m measuring out dry ingredients for bread, for example, I’ll measure out a second recipe’s worth and put it in a labeled bag. Flour makes more of a mess than anything, IMHO, and if you make that mess all at once, it means less to clean up in the future.
Kathy @ House of Hills says
I do this too. It’s too easy to get distracted by a small person and then not know where you stopped!
Delicious recipe too. Thanks for sharing.
megan @ whatmegansmaking says
I just recently started doing this as well! Too many recipes where I confused myself 🙂 Your bread looks (and sounds) so good!
Erika says
I’ve been baking for years with my Grandma (who’s still at it at 84!), and we always use two or three bowls … learned from past (terrible tasting) experiences! It helps, too, with certain recipes that are stiff to stir or mix by hand.
…and the cinnamon bread looks A-Mazing! Gonna have to try that one! Thanks for sharing!
stephanie says
this looks sooooooo yummy!!