Pumpkin Walnut Bread

The farmers markets are starting to look a bit schizophrenic lately.  There are still the fruits of Summer’s harvest for sale (tomatoes, peaches, some peppers and corn) but they’re fighting for attention against the flashy new produce of Fall (okay, maybe calling Winter squashes flashy is a bit much but you get my point).  This past weekend I made my way to the 14th & U Farmers Market (it will be a sad day in my house when this market closes for the season) and was delighted to see the first of the seasons pumpkins out.  I had seen some butternut and acorn squashes in dribbles over the last two weeks, but this was the first time I’d seen pumpkins at the market.  And I was anxious to try my hand at baking with fresh pumpkins (and by anxious, I mean a cute little pumpkin only cost $3 at the market…and I have no self control).

I asked at Garner’s produce stand if the pumpkins they had were good for cooking with or if they were grown more for carving.  “Oh no, these babies are for making pies!” was my enthusiastic answer.  Although I didn’t think the weather was Autumn-y enough yet to make a pie, I did want to bake something with the cute little pumpkins.  I didn’t let the fact that I had no clue what to do with said pumpkin get in the way.

I’d never actually worked with a real pumpkin before.  In fact, I’d never even carved a pumpkin in my life.  We didn’t really celebrate Halloween when I was growing up, so I missed out on all that fun (although it meant I was spared the horror of wearing homemade Halloween costumes in public).  When I got the pumpkin home, I wasn’t sure how to parlay it into a usable pumpkin puree for the bread I had in mind.  When I split it open, it looked so much like all the other gourds I have roasted, it seemed logical for me to roast it too.  Checking on Google afterward (oh yes, I waited until AFTER I’d already roasted the pumpkin to see if it was the right thing to do) proved me right and it was smooth sailing from that point on.

The bread recipe itself is a variation on banana nut bread, using the spices familiar with pumpkin pie to flavor the batter.  Using fresh pumpkin puree instead of canned pumpkin adds a richer flavor to the bread, so not as much puree is needed.  It also makes your house smell unbelievably tasty and may drive any household pets to fits of insanity.

FYI, after several requests (and a lot of amateur attempts at web design), I’ve finally found a plug in that makes my posts print ready! Directly above the Share/Save buttons on each post you’ll find a “Print This Recipe” link.  No applause necessary.

Pumpkin Walnut Bread

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

2 tablespoons water

large handful walnuts

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×5 loaf pan

To make the pumpkin puree: cut a pumpkin in half (make sure you get a smaller pumpkin grown to be eaten and not the large ones meant to serve as jack-o’-lanterns).  Scoop out the flesh and seeds.  You can save the seeds and roast them for a healthy snack (more on that in a later post), so don’t throw them away!  Brush the cut sides of the pumpkin with the melted butter and place them on a baking sheet.  Roast the pumpkin for about an hour or until the flesh is soft and tender.  Allow the pumpkin to cool completely and then scoop out the flesh.  Place the flesh in a food processor and pulse until smooth.  You can freeze whatever puree you don’t use for this recipe to use later.

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and spices into a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the water and then stir in the buttermilk and pumpkin puree.   Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until everything’s incorporated.  Add the nuts and give it all one more quick stir.  Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.  Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick in the center of the loaf comes out clean.