Chop Bouie

pumpkin bread. sweet, delicious pumpkin bread

For the longest time, my breakfast of choice was granola and greek yogurt. But since moving to DC, buying granola in bulk has become a little too expensive, so as a replacement, I began baking loaves of spiced quick bread. For those of you who don’t do much baking, a quick bread is any bread which is leavened with chemical leavenings like baking powder, baking soda, or cream of tartar. Unlike yeast breads — which are full of variation — quick breads are uniform, reliable and easy to make.

This bread, in particular, is very quick and simple. Pumpkin aside, you probably have everything you need on hand in your pantry. I use canned pumpkin — because I’m lazy — but feel free to buy a pumpkin and roast it. And don’t think that you have to limit yourself to pumpkin; butternut squash makes an excellent bread.

pumpkin bread (adapted from Simply Recipes)

• 1 1/2 cups flour (I use a cup of all purpose and a half cup of whole wheat)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice (if you don’t have it, use cloves, or just more nutmeg and cinnamon)
• 1 cup sugar (half brown/half granulated)
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, salt, baking soda and the spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree, olive oil, water and vanilla extract, whisking until fully incorporated. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry, and mix until combined, though not too thoroughly (you want it lumpy).

Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the center of the loaf comes out clean (I usually check after 50 minutes). Turn out of the pan, and let cool on a rack.

Enjoy with yogurt as part of a delicious breakfast. Or alone, as a snack.