Pumpkin Bread

Let's face it, most quick breads are just cake, shaped into a loaf. They're not fooling anybody. Of course if we went ahead and called it cake, no one would eat it for breakfast (same thing goes for muffins). I wanted to make a quick bread that was just a touch sweet, but not crossing that line into cake territory. So I used maple syrup (I love maple and pumpkin together) and added just enough so it still feels like a treat, but isn't cloyingly sweet. This batch was a test run for my daughter's school Halloween party..I figure the last thing those little maniacs need is a super sugary snack that sends them bouncing off the walls (you're welcome Mrs. Milton).

PUMPKIN BREAD

Yield: 3 (7” x 3”) loaves

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

2 to 2 1/4 cups pure maple syrup (grade A), to taste

1 cup vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)

1/2 cup water

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1.          Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease and flour 3 (7- x 3-inch) loaf pans.

2.          In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, eggs, maple syrup, oil, and water until well blended.

3.          Add the flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

4.          Bake for about 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

adapted from Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread by Laurie Bennett at allrecipes.com

adding maple syrup to all the other wet ingredients

wet ingredients mixed

adding the flours

If you can't find whole wheat pastry flour,
you can use 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I just
wanted to make the recipe a little healthier).

all the dry ingredients mixed in

batter in the pans

My loaf pans are larger than the recipe
calls for...you can use any size/shape pan
you want, just adjust the baking time.

baked

slicing

This bread is nice and moist (better the next day).

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