I Love Pumpkin Bread

Yep, that's right. And, I think Ms Iz does, too (that's my daughter, in case you didn't know).

I made a gluten-free (happens to also be dairy-free) pumpkin bread yesterday, which I have to say beats the pants off my old version. I don't bake a lot, so it's very nice to find a recipe that comes together easily and has little to no mess (but a few dishes to clean up afterward).

The original recipe is from Noteworthy: A Collection of Recipes from the Ravinia Festival, which is a book I received as a wedding gift. Many years (almost 15) and life changes (had a kid, got out of my marriage) later, I still return to this recipe every Thanksgiving. I love pumpkin pie, but can't really eat the crust, and being a novice baker, muffins and breads like this are much more in my comfort zone.

Even though butter and I are best friends, using vegetable oil here makes the bread moist and the batter silky. I changed up some of the spices, though. I didn't have everything on hand, so used cinnamon, cloves and ground ginger. Adding the walnuts just before baking gave the bread a nice crunch, but didn't mess with the interior texture. Oh, and of course, I used a gluten-free mix of flour instead of the traditional white flour the recipe calls for. I bought a pre-mixed flour this time, but you can go here to find a great recipe for your own mix.

I had intended to make muffins this year, but as always happens, I had no liners for the tray. Once I bought the liners, I realized I only had a mini muffin tray, so the liners were too big. I spotted the mini springform pans in the back of the cabinet. Adding a little oil and some parchment paper made the breads a snap to remove from the pans.

Pumpkin Bread

makes 5 small loaves

Recipe adapted from Noteworthy: A Collection of Recipes from the Ravinia Festival

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cup sifted gluten-free flour (use a mix or make your own)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/ 1/4 cups canned pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs lightly beaten

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and ginger in a large bowl.
• Mix together vegetable oil, orange juice, pumpkin puree and eggs in another large bowl.
• Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Make sure to mix completely to incorporate everything.
• Lightly oil the pans. Line your baking pans with parchment.
• Pour the mixture into the pans.
• Add nuts to the top.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Insert a cake tester or toothpick into the center and if it comes out clean, the bread is ready. If not, bake for another 5 minutes.