It's that time of year, and lovely pie pumpkins, a.k.a. sugar pumpkins, are 2 for $5.00 at Albertsons. Hooray! In the words of my cousin Meaghan, also a foodie, "put 'pumpkin' in anything, and I'm all over it". OK, so maybe those weren't her exact words, but you get our love affair with the orange squash.
I purchased my pie pumpkin while at the store hunting down a cheesecake sampler for Boss's Day. Leave it to me to exit the store with something else and a baguette for myself. Yep. I said myself. I ate baguette for dinner!
French bread fetishes aside, let's get back to the pumpkin bread.
Utilizing said 'pie pumpkin', I waited for the little pumpkin-carving bandit to go out with Daddy to visit grandpa, and away I went to break-it-down. First, we cut in and remove the seeds, but we DO NOT throw them away! You must, and I mean, MUST roast them:
Mix with about 2T EVOO, salt with sea or Kosher, and roast at 300 for about 20 minutes (start with 10 then give it 5 additional as needed) You want them to have a nice brown edge, but not be burnt!
Next order of business, cook the pumpkin. I opted for the micro method so I could roast my seeds simultaneously. Slice the squash in half, scraping out the stringy stuff and place in a microwavable bowl. Add about 1/2 c water to the bottom of the bowl and micro for 15-20 minutes. If it isn't soft yet, add 5-10 minutes more. When cool, scrape the pumpkin "mush" out and discard the rind. You'll need 2C mush for 2 loaves bread.
After 15 minutes, my pumpkin was nice and soft. I let it cool a bit, then scraped the meat of the squash:
It still appeared a bit stringy, reminding me of cooked spaghetti squash, but then to the next step. We puree in the Cuisinart food processor until we have what looks like pumpkin baby food:
I tasted it at this point, and was surprised at the nice flavor. I learned online that the canned pumpkin from Libby's and others are really a mix of butternut squashes, so this was a more true pumpkin flavor. Now to the bread preparation!
Ingredients:
| • 2 cups of fresh cooked pumpkin (or 1 can pumpkin) • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (not self-rising flour) • 2 tsp. baking soda • 3 cups sugar or 3 cups of Splenda OR a 50:50 mix of the two. • 4 eggs, beaten • 1 cup vegetable oil • 1 and 1/2 tsp. salt | • 2 tsp. cinnamon • 2 tsp. nutmeg • 1/2 teaspoon allspice • 1 cup chopped pecans (optional) • 1/2 cup raisins (also optional) • Water:
1/2 cup water if you are using fresh cooked pumpkin
OR
2/3 cup water if you are using commercial canned pumpkin • Makes 2 loaves. |
Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and sugar (or Splenda).
Add the eggs, water, oil and pumpkin.
Stir until blended.
If desired, add the raisins and/or nuts. Mix well, either by hand or with a mixer. Pour into two lightly greased and floured 9x5" loaf pans. Or, use muffin pans if you want muffins instead of loaves!
Bake approximately 1 hour at 350 F (175 C). The test for doneness is the knife test: when a clean knife can be stuck in and removed cleanly.
Remove from the oven and cool slightly (10 minutes).
Then take out of pans to let cool on a rack.
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