Oh yes, it's autumn and that leads to pumpkin bread every time! This recipe comes from the Whole Foods website. Of course I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I have included the little changes that I made. For one thing, I couldn't see using part of a can of pumpkin, so I upped the amount in the bread and added more flour to prevent wasting the rest. And since we're "gaga" over black walnuts, I just had to use them in this bread and sprinkle some on top for good measure! I served this with cream cheese sweetened with honey and spiked with cinnamon - so good with a cup of hot tea on a rainy afternoon!Ingredients:
Canola oil cooking spray
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I added an extra 1/4C)
1/4 cup oat bran or wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons cane sugar (I used Sucanat)
1/3 cup canola or sunflower oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup milk
1 1/4 cups fresh or canned pumpkin puree (I used one 15oz. can)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch loaf pan (I used a larger loaf pan) with canola oil cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, oat bran, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda. In a second large bowl, combine sugar, oil, honey, milk, pumpkin, egg and vanilla then add to flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in walnuts.
Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan (I sprinkled a few extra black walnuts and 2 tsp. cinnamon sugar on the top before placing the bread in the oven.), and bake until cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack then remove from pan and set aside to let cool completely.
