Pumpkin bread

I know, it’s that time of year where pumpkin starts to take over. I stood my ground as long as I could but I am not immune to the pumpkin fever that is sweeping the land. Once I gave myself over to the unrelenting force of the pumpkin the only real questions is: What to make?

I thought about all kinds of pumpkin infested recipes, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin granola, but I finally decided on good ol’ fashioned Pumpkin Bread.

I ran into a little hiccup when I grabbed all of my baking supplies. I was out of whole wheat pastry flour so I subbed organic stone ground whole wheat flour and unbleached all purpose flour. I think you could use whole wheat pastry flour with good results.

Ingredients

• 1 c whole wheat flour
• 1 c all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/8 ground cloves
• 2 c pumpkin puree
• 1/2 c applesauce
• 1/2 c maple syrup (agave or date syrup would work too)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 walnuts (optional)

Do

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and prepare loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients together except nuts.
3. In a medium bowl mix together all wet ingredients.
4. Dump wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until mixed.
5. Stir in nuts if using.
6. Scoop batter into loaf pan.
7. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until done.
8. Let cool 20 minutes then remove from pan and place on cooling rack until completely cook.
9. Slice after it is completely cool.

Serve

This is perfect for dessert or as an accompaniment to warm cup of coffee or chai. It is not really sweet, if you’re looking for a sweeter bread add more maple syrup or raw sugar. This would also be good with a glaze on top if you are serving it for dessert. I’ll probably be eating this for breakfast tomorrow too. If you’re a chocolate fanatic like me you could add vegan chocolate chips, you can never go wrong with chocolate!