Acorn Bread

Very tasty, with a distinctive texture. Great for Thanksgiving! American colonists in the Northeast used all available food sources- acorn bread is an adaptation of a Native American recipe which was somewhat common in the late 17th century until the mid 19th among the poorer working classes.

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Yields: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1  cup  acorn meal
• 1  cup flour
• 2  tablespoons baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 3  tablespoons sugar
• 1  eggs, beaten or 1  egg substitute
• 1  cup milk (I use soy or rice milk- works fine)
• 3  tablespoons  oil

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Grease a loaf pan.
3. Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, combine egg, milk, and oil.
5. Combine dry and liquid ingredients.
6. Stir just enough to moisten dry ingredients.
7. Batter will be a bit lumpy.
8. Pour into a greased pan, bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
9. Acorns are very easy to use, similar to chestnuts.
10. First examine the acorns as you pick/gather them.
11. Throw away any that are wormy/moldy/cracked/etc.
12. Next, shell them.
13. Early in the season (August-September) the shell is usually soft enough to cut through.
14. Later in the season acorns may require a nut cracker, though many times the shells are rather thin and brittle.
15. Taste the raw acorns- if they are bitter, they need to be boiled.
16. Tannic acid causes the bitterness, and is easily leached out by boiling the acorns in successive pots of water.
17. When the water no longer turns brown (looks a lot like tea), the acorns are ready.
18. The next step is to roast the acorns slightly.
19. Use a warm oven, no more than 250 degrees.
20. Acorns that have not been boiled will take 60 minutes or so, boiled acorns will take longer.
21. Once they're roasted, the acorns can be used in place of nuts in most recipes, although they are less oily than most nuts.
22. They can be glazed like chestnuts, simmered in a soup, ground and used as a flour extender.