Growing up in Wisconsin, each school year featured a trip to the pumpkin patch, where students would search for the roundest, brightest pumpkin of the bunch. Then we’d head back to the classroom to scoop out the seeds for roasting, and carefully construct faces. I can’t honestly say that my pumpkin was all that well carved, but among the crooked teeth and squirrelly eyebrows, its simple smile proved a little less frightening. But why did we throw out all those pumpkin innards? Was a pumpkin any different from a squash? Wasn’t it a waste of perfectly good food?
Well, here’s the thing about pumpkins. They’re not recipe-friendly. In order to incorporate the meat of a pumpkin into a pie or a dough, you’ve got to break the heavy mass down into pieces and then roast it for great lengths until tender. Then you have to puree it before it’s ready for use. Consistency is a also a problem: some pumpkins are stringier than others, which makes it tough to get that silky texture found in pumpkin pies. While there is tradition is this process, I suggest using canned pumpkin puree for your baking endeavors.
Pumpkin Bread (Makes one loaf)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
A pinch of ground cloves
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 can pumpkin puree
1 lemon peel, grated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1 cup walnuts, halved
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and cloves into a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix well. In another mixing bowl, beat the butter with a whisk until fluffy. Then gradually add the sugar and continue to beat. Add the eggs, one at a time until fully incorporated. Beat in the lemon rind, the pumpkin puree and the vanilla. Then slowly add milk and stir the mixture well. Fold the wet mixture into the dry until a dough forms. Add the walnuts and give it a few more stirs. Fill the pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out dry. Let cool on a rack.
Well, here’s the thing about pumpkins. They’re not recipe-friendly. In order to incorporate the meat of a pumpkin into a pie or a dough, you’ve got to break the heavy mass down into pieces and then roast it for great lengths until tender. Then you have to puree it before it’s ready for use. Consistency is a also a problem: some pumpkins are stringier than others, which makes it tough to get that silky texture found in pumpkin pies. While there is tradition is this process, I suggest using canned pumpkin puree for your baking endeavors.
Pumpkin Bread (Makes one loaf)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
A pinch of ground cloves
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 can pumpkin puree
1 lemon peel, grated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1 cup walnuts, halved
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and cloves into a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix well. In another mixing bowl, beat the butter with a whisk until fluffy. Then gradually add the sugar and continue to beat. Add the eggs, one at a time until fully incorporated. Beat in the lemon rind, the pumpkin puree and the vanilla. Then slowly add milk and stir the mixture well. Fold the wet mixture into the dry until a dough forms. Add the walnuts and give it a few more stirs. Fill the pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out dry. Let cool on a rack.
