Remember how after Chris over at Johnson Family Farm was kind enough to explain with clear explanations and pictures how to get the food out of the pumpkins (here), we went at pumpkin harvesting with a vengeance and ended up with a bunch of bags of pumpkin puree? Well, the next step was to do find ways to use that puree, and true to form, sometimes you don't have to look very far to get the information you need, if you think about it. I asked my grandmother if I could put her recipe for pumpkin bread here, so I will share it with you:
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin
1 and 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/3 cup water (cold)
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup raisins or dates
Mix together and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour in a greased loaf pan.
3 things I would add:
1) I made this before the week of Thanksgiving, and did not realize until after my little baking project was in the oven that I needed to grease the pan. That is a mistake that experienced bakers do not make, but I am only in the process of trying to become experienced in this kind of baking, (hey, cookies I do fine :) so please learn from my mistake. The bread turned out fine anyway, it was just a little hard to get out of the pan. That, and it was not as beautiful as some loaves I have seen. Good thing it wasn't a beauty contest.... :)
2) It took my loaf considerably longer than an hour to finish baking. I wish I had kept better track of the time that it did take, but I don't know at this point. At the hour mark, I checked it and it was not done. I kept checking it periodically, and when a knife came out clean I knew it was done. The timing difference may be because of the difference in altitude between where I am baking the bread, and where my grandmother has mostly made it, so it may differ where you live as well, if you try to make it. Checking it wasn't that big of a deal, and in the end the bread tasted great.
3) A tip from my best source (Mom) about using the raisins that I put into practice here: pour boiling water over them and let them set for a little while to soften them up before you add them. I did this and everything tasted great.
Well, just wanted to share. Thanks to Grandma for sharing the recipe. If I can make pumpkin bread, anyone can--and if you have bags/cans/whatever of pumpkin to use, you might want to give this one a try...
6 comments:
Thanks to you and your grandma for the recipe! I love the smell of pumpkin in the oven, especially when it is foggy and rainy out (as we get it here during winter). I look forward to trying it!
Jennifer--I hope you enjoy it--one of my kids especially liked it, and I will probably make it again soon. What I like is how easy it is--any recipe that just says mix together and bake is one that I naturally gravitate toward... :) Thanks for your comment!
I think I would love pumpkin bread with raisins in it... Mel can't stand raisins though.
I've baked some pretty ugly loaves of bread. Who cares? I ate most of them before they cooled down. :)
Ron
Ron--I can usually take or leave the raisins, but in this bread they're pretty good. I'm also with you about how the bread looks--I figure it's all in the flavor. However, convincing the kids to try something that looks kind of messy can be a little harder, although they usually come around eventually... :) Thanks for your comment!
Made it last night, had it this morning and it was great!! Turned out beautifully. I took mine out of oven at 1 hour 15 minutes. Could have used 5 more minutes, probably, with foil on the top. Delicious.
Jennifer--I'm glad it turned out well for you! Thanks for including the time it took as well--it's very helpful to know what worked for others. Thanks for letting me know, and I'm glad you liked it!
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