Pumpkin Bread… because PUMPKIN!

Are you sure that you haven’t been inundated enough yet with PUMPKIN? If not, then keep reading because I am jumping on this squash’s bandwagon! I’m using a recipe from the Taste of Life Greek Food Cookbook.Pumpkin Bread collage

I used Pumpkin Spice in place of cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s a mixture of both those spices and also ginger, allspice, mace and cloves. Mace is made from the covering of nutmeg seeds.

Pumpkin Bread -pumpkin spice

I made a little change in the recipe from the original. I fold the dried cherries into the dry ingredients, before combining with the wet. It’s a tip I learned watching Ina Garten. It keeps them from sinking to the bottom.

Pumpkin Bread mixure

Here is what the mixture looks like before it is transferred into a loaf pan.

Pumpkin Bread loafpan

The loaf pan should be greased. I used butter.

Pumpkin Bread - done

The bread is done baking when the skewer comes out clean.

Pumpkin Bread - cooling on rack

This recipe will make your kitchen smell yummy! Happy Pumpkin Season!

Pumpkin Bread
 
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Cook time
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Pumpkin Bread recipe from the Taste of Life Greek Food Cookbook by the Ladies Philoptochos Society of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Grand Rapids MI
Author:
Recipe type: Bread
Cuisine: Greek
Serves: 1 loaf
Ingredients
  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ cup nonfat dry milk
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon (I used pumpkin pie spice)
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. nutmeg (I used pumpkin pie spice)
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup raisins ( I used dried cherries)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. In a mixing bowl, whisk flour, dry milk, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg
  3. Fold in raisins (dried cherries)
  4. [My little change in the instructions from the original: I fold the dried cherries into the dry ingredients, before combining with wet. It's a tip I learned watching Ina Garten.]
  5. In a small bowl, whisk eggs, pumpkin,, brown sugar and oil
  6. Add wet ingredients into dry, mixing just until combined
  7. Pour batter into a greased 9x5 inch load pan
  8. Bake at 350° for 60 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

Bread: Part 3 – Tassajara Yeasted

Today I made bread for the first time following the Tassajara Yeasted Bread recipe. My last two posts have also been about the preparation of this event.

I made the bread without a mixer, or a bread machine, using just a bowl, a spoon and my hands. Oh… and a couple of bread pans and a hot oven.

Tassajara Bread spongethe important sponge

Tassajara Bread add salt & oil salt and oil added

Tassajara Bread add flour

with flour

Tassajara Bread rise 1

kneaded and set to rise

Tassajara Bread risen 45 min

risen after 45 minutes

Tassajara Bread punched down

then punched down

Tassajara Bread 2nd rise 45 min

only to rise again after 45 minutes

Tassajara Bread ready for the oven

then kneaded and ready for the oven

Tassajara Bread baked

baked bread

Tassajara Bread slice

sliced

Tassajara Bread slice

the contentment of success

“The food will taste better when the cook is joyful.” Edward Espe Brown

Bread: Part 2 – From the beginning

Ten days ago I shared my desire to bake bread. Here’s my progress so far. I’ve begun reading The Tassajara Bread Book that arrived from Amazon. The Tassajara Bread Book is written by Edward Espe Brown, a Soto Zen Buddhist priest, teacher and chef.  His website is The Peaceful Sea Sangha and he has a Facebook page.

The Tassajara Bread Book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought the basic ingredients for making Tassajara Yeasted bread. I went shopping at Restaurant Depot for kitchen supplies. I purchased two bread pans and a new board.pans & board
The Tassajara Yeasted Bread recipe is the basis for all the other recipes in the book, so it seems like the right place to start. The Washington Post calls The Tassajara Bread Book the “The Bible of bread baking”. I’m hoping to have a religious experience.

 

Bread

I want to learn to make bread. I want to learn to  make it without even thinking. I want it to be effortless. I want it to be delicious…

I want I want I want I want I want… also there is no Greek angle on this post, but I have been thinking about this for a long time. Time to get into action.

Here’s my first step toward this desire: The Tassajara Bread Book by Edward Espe Brown. I need to buy this book. I learned about this book because I watch a lot of documentaries. This is one of my favorites and how I learned about the book.

I’ll keep you posted (ha! double meaning) on my progress…