I apologize for my long absence from blogging. Life got busier over the past few months, and I haven’t had much time for experimenting and baking. However, last week I did prepare a pumpkin bread adapted from a traditional recipe that turned out fairly well. I caved and used granulated sugar since I had some on hand, but the recipe below uses the same amount of natural cane sugar. I reduced the oil in the recipe by using applesauce, which worked nicely with the texture. However, the apple was a little strong for my taste, so next time, I will probably reduce the amount of applesauce in the recipe.
Yield: 2-3 loaves (depending on the size of your bread pan)
2 c. natural cane sugar (I used granulated white, but that’s not natural, is it?)
1/2 c. canola oil
1 c. applesauce (Next time, I will reduce this amount to 1/2 cup)
2 whole eggs
2 egg whites
2/3 c. water (reduce to 1/2 c. if using fresh pumpkin)
2 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 c. unbleached white flour
2 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
1 15 oz can of pumpkin (or 2 c. of pureed pumpkin)
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a very large bowl, mix together sugar, oil and applesauce. Add water, eggs and egg whites. In a large bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir to combine. Add pumpkin and walnuts. Place batter in greased bread pans, and bake for about 65 minutes or until a knife inserted in the bread comes out clean.
Enjoy!
