I am so ready for autumn. The cooler days, hot chocolate and warm spices. Comfort food. My Spiced Pumpkin Walnut Bread is the perfect loaf to get you in the mood. Have it with coffee, tea or a glass of milk, close your eyes and inhale those lovely spices. One bite will bring thoughts of leaves turning golden and russet, swirling their dramatic last dance before next Spring. My husband, cat and I cuddled on the couch with music in the background and our fireplace aglow. Something comforting and delicious will be on the stovetop and fresh bread is ready for the oven. And I’ve just taken my favorite sweater from the back of my cabinet behind the tee-shirts.

As delicious as the Spiced Pumpkin Walnut Bread is, it’s even better the day after you bake it when the flavors have fully developed. This was just what I needed to get me thinking about Thanksgiving, which will be here sooner than I think.

I’ve made pumpkin breads before, but frankly, they’ve aways been a bit disappointing. So I went looking for a new one. I came across this on a site called Sally’s Baking Addiction. I used it for my base, but then made several changes to suit our tastes. Sally’s baking always looks interesting and I really liked that this recipe did not require using a mixer. My version uses more spice and I substituted nuts for the chocolate chips. I love chocolate but I don’t believe that it is necessary in every dessert.

I like my pumpkin pie on the spicey side – not hot – just lovely rich, warm spices. Nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and some deep, dark molasses. My secret ingredient is to add a few cracks of black pepper to the spice mix. You can, of course, buy pumpkin spice mix at most grocery stores, but making your own is so much better. Your house will smell inviting and cozy. The Spiced Pumpkin Walnut Bread makes me just want to curl up with my husband, cat and a good book.

While I generally hate recipes that don’t use entire cans of whatever I food I am making. But having a bit of leftover pumpkin puree is never a problem to use up. I use it stews, soups, curries and will sub out some of my applesauce in my next batch of muffins. It lends a silky richness without substantially changing the flavors of the other ingredients. And it’s a great way to add in some extra beta carotene to your diet!

RECIPE

Yield: One 9 x 5″ loaf

INGREDIENTS

1.75 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour (219g)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon each: ground nutmeg, allspice, cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3 to 4 cracks of freshly ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 generous Tablespoon of dark, robust molasses

2 large eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (150g)

1.5 cups of pumpkin puree (349g) [I prefer canned pumpkin puree to making my own. The results are more consistent.]

1/2 cup neutral vegetable oil (120ml) [I like avocado oil, but canola or melted refined coconut oil are all good as well]

1/4 cup of fresh orange juice

2/3 cups of coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted

DIRECTIONS

Place your oven rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a metal pan (preferably non-stick) with a non-stick spray or its equivalent. I like to then place a piece of parchment in the bottom of the pan with the ends overlapping the sides for easier removal. I then lightly spray the parchment. Set this aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, nuts, salt and spices together to combine. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugars until combined. Then whisk in the pumpkin puree, oil and orange juice. Once the wet ingredients are well combined, add them into the dry ingredients. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold the mixture just until there is no more flour showing. Do not overmix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and give the pan a gentle shake to oven things out. Tap it once or twice on the counter to remove any air bubbles.

Place the pan into the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes. Then lightly cover the pan with some foil to keep the top from over browning and bake for an additional 30+ minutes. Ovens vary. My bread took an additional 10 minutes before a toothpick came out clean. But your oven may run hotter. Because it is difficult to dry out this bread, I then left it in the oven without the foil cover and with the oven TURNED OFF for an additional 10 minutes.

Remove the pan to a wire cooling rack and allow the bread to cool until you can easily touch the pan with your bare hand – about 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and allow it to continue cooling. Unless you will be using it right away, once completely cooled, wrap it well in foil and waxed paper and then placed in a plastic bag. Perfect on its own, you might also enjoy it slathered with softened cream cheese or lightly sweetened mascarpone, flavored with orange zest. Unless your house is very cool, you will want to refrigerate this after the first day.