This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Organic and King Arthur Flour via the Clean Plate Club blogger program. In exchange for this post, I was provided with the products used to develop my recipe. As always, all content and opinions are my own.

As much as I love apples, sweet potatoes, and smoked salmon, bread is my all-time favorite food.  Hearty loaves of homemade rye, impatiently sliced while still steaming; round loaves of sourdough from Whole Foods, picked up on the way home from work; crusty baguettes purchased at the farmer's market--I love it all.  When I recently had a chance to try out King Arthur flours through the Stonyfield Clean Plate Club blogger program, my next move was obvious: I had to bake some bread.

A mixture of Stonyfield 100% Grassfed plain yogurt and maple syrup serve as this recipe's liquid ingredients: the yogurt provides a tender moistness with a lower fat content than butter, while the maple syrup adds a hint of sweetness and a subtle, rich flavor.  There's also a generous helping of cinnamon and a nutritional boost from King Arthur organic white whole wheat flour.

Yes, there is such a thing as white whole wheat flour.  According to King Arthur's blog, it's a whole wheat flour and includes the entire wheat kernel.  However, the type of wheat used is lighter in color, so you get the nutritional benefits of whole grain in a lighter-hued baked good.  I did a side-by-side comparison above, with white whole wheat flour on the left and King Arthur organic all-purpose flour on the right.  As you can see, the white whole wheat flour is only a bit darker than the all-purpose.  My finished loaf of bread ended up quite brown, but that's more due to the maple syrup than the white whole wheat flour.

If you don't have access to white whole wheat flour, you can substitute all-purpose flour.  I've tested the recipe using only all-purpose flour and couldn't detect a flavor or texture difference.  However, I do recommend giving the white whole wheat flour a try--it's an easy way to add more whole grain to your diet.

I suspect this bread would make fabulous toast, although I haven't tried it personally--we tend to polish off the whole loaf in one sitting, fresh from the oven.  I prefer the bread plain, while Mike recommends a generous smear of pumpkin butter.

Yield: one 8 inch by 4 inch loaf

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Stonyfield 100% Grassfed plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 cup King Arthur organic all-purpose flour
• 1 cup King Arthur organic white whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt

Combine yogurt and maple syrup in a small saucepan.  Heat to 110 degrees Fahrenheit over low heat, stirring occasionally.  Remove saucepan from heat, stir in yeast, and let sit 5 minutes, until small bubbles have formed across the surface and mixture is foamy.

Mix flours, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.  Add the yogurt mixture and stir until flour is completely incorporated.  Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and springy.  The dough should bounce back when lightly poked.  Form dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl.  Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, 75 to 90 minutes.

Punch down risen dough.  Form into a rectangular loaf and place in a greased 8 inch by 4 inch loaf pan.  Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake bread until browned and hollow-sounding when tapped, about 35 minutes.  Remove from pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.