Original recipe: Fannie Farmer Pumpkin Bread

Once upon a time my SO traveled alone to visit his mom and sister for Thanksgiving; he came back with a loaf of pumpkin bread his mom had made for him. I had never seen or really heard of pumpkin bread before. This may sound odd to some of you, but pumpkin bread is not something Cubans make. When he sliced it up, put it in the toaster oven and slathered some butter on it for the first time, the smell alone was driving me crazy and making my mouth water. What was this delightful medley of sweet spices and aromas and where had it been my whole life?!! I had to try some. Needless to say it was even more delicious than I thought it could be. I was in love. When that loaf was gone, I was in mourning. I had no idea how to recreate this divine food that had brought me so much happiness.

I began hunting on the internet for the perfect recipe. I’m a bake from scratch kind of girl; so one of those boxed mixes they sell at the grocery store was not going to work for me. That’s when I found the Fannie Farmer recipe. My initial reaction was, there are so many ingredients! I gave it a go and baked a double recipe and had two loaves of delectable goodness. I succeeded. This recipe was every bit as delicious and wonderful as his mom’s had tasted. It was close to Christmas and I was feeling generous so I thought, I have to share this with the world. I made two extra loaves and brought them into work. They disappeared in less than an hour. Co-workers started asking me for entire loafs for themselves. That holiday I must have made 20 loaves of the stuff and given it away. My house smelled deliciously for weeks after.

Since then, I have modified only the flour from the original recipe. I now split it into 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 bread flour. It does not affect the flavor or texture in the least bit and I feel slightly better that I’m eating some whole grain. This recipe easily scales up and can be made into muffins if you don’t have a loaf pan. It’s great for breakfast on the go or midnight snacks!

Makes one loaf ~ 8-10 thick slices or 8-10 large muffins

Ingredients: 
3/4 C Unbleached bread flour
3/4 C Whole wheat flour
1/2 C White sugar
1/2 C Brown sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 C pumpkin puree
1/2 C Light tasting olive oil
1/4 C Water
2 Eggs* beaten
1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Cloves
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/8 tsp Ginger

Optional: Crushed walnuts
*For a vegan version use 1/3 C warm water and 2 TB of chia seeds that have soaked for a minimum of 15 minutes or your preferred vegan egg substitute.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°. Grease your cooking vessel (loaf pan or muffin tin) with butter preferably. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, sugars and spices. If you skip this step, you may end up with large un-melted chunks of sugar in the finished product. Beat the pumpkin puree, oil, eggs, water and vanilla together. Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients using a rubber spatula until they are just combined. Resist the urge to fully mix and you will get lighter fluffier bread! Pour into your 9″x 5″ loaf pan. If desired top with crushed walnuts and bake for 50-60 minutes (if making muffins 40-50 min; since there is more surface area touching the batter, it cooks more quickly) or until a toothpick poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool for approximately 5 -10 minutes in the pan. When ready, give the pan a little jiggle to help loosen the loaf and then turn out onto a cooling rack. Devour and delight in the deliciousness.
Nutrition facts per serving (9 servings)
Calories: 316
Fat: 16.5
Cholesterol: 41 mg
Potassium: 12 mg
Carbs: 39 g
Fiber: 2.5 g
Sugars: 23 g
Protein: 4 g
Vitamin A: 86%
Vitamin C: 1.8%
Calcium: 2.7%
Iron: 6.5%