Mixed Berry Almond Loaf | #BreadBakers

The season of flowers never seems to get over in the foothills. Even when the Sun is belligerent and spewing heat with all generosity, the Neem tree bears small milky flowers. It is a soothing sight to see cascades of flowers in the boughs. A sweet smell soothes the senses as you pass by or stand underneath. Bees, insects small birds all swarm around the bunches of flowers.

Last week we had an unexpected downpour. It rained heavily and our lawn turned into a swimming pool. A few days later, we a riot of colours. Football lilies sprouted out of every inch of the Earth. 

Dad loved them and the bulbs planted by him have been multiplying. He must be smiling from up there.

 It is early morning and we head to our backyard to collect ripe wood apples and mangoes that fall and remain hidden in the dead vegetation.  Our backyard is a parched landscape in the summer with mottled shades of brown. Some plants ( presumably planted by Dad) brighten the dull corners of the dry patch. These are snow white flowers growing around the tender branches.

We come home with bags full of ripe fruits and enjoy a hot cup of tea. No matter how hot it is, a cup of tea is refreshing. 

Later, we get down to baking a Mixed Berry Almond Loaf.

The loaf is moist, mildly sweet and full of chewy berries. Almond meal makes the crumb really soft and delicious. You can identify every berry by its taste and flavour.

Mixed Berry Almond Loaf

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup Almond meal
• 1 cup castor sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon (scant) baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 flax egg (1tbsp flax meal + 3 tbsp water. Mix and refrigerate for 10 minutes, Whisk. Use)
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 ½ cup dry mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, strawberries, blackberries)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line one 8x4 inch loaf tin.
2. Whisk together first six ingredients in a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, take all the liquid ingredients and mix well.
4. Add dry ingredients to liquid ingredients and mix to combine.
5. Fold in berries tossed in some flour.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin.
7. Arranged almond slices on top.
8. Bake for 50 minutes or till the top turns golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Remove from the tin. Slice when cold                                                                                              

Linking to Breadbakers -

This month's BreadBakers' theme is Breads with Nut Meals and Nut Flours inspired bread, hosted by Cindy at Cindy’s Recipes and Writings. 

Enjoy all these creative breads using nut meals and nut flours from The Bread Bakers Group!

• Almond Blueberry Banana Bread by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins by Pavani at Cook's Hideout
• Almond Flour Bread by Robin at A Shaggy Dough Story
• Almond Flour Sandwich Buns by Gayathri at Gayathri’s Cook Spot
• Almond Pear Bread by Cindy at Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Carrot Nut Bread by Mayuri at Mayuri's Jikoni
• Citrus Bread with Macadamia Nuts by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fig and Walnut Bread by Karen at Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Fig Date Walnut Bread by Sneha at Sneha's Recipe
• Mixed Berry Almond Loaf by Namita at Ambrosia
• Peanut Brittle Ring Bread by Sharanya at Sara’s Tasty Buds
• Peanut Butter Breakfast Loaf by Sue at Palatable Pastime
• Quick Almond Bread by Kalyani at Sizzling Tastebuds
• Whole Grain Date Walnut Bread by Sona at Spill the Spices

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. 
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to [email protected].