Pumpkins and snuggle weather, perfect time for pumpkin bread. Here’s the recipe I’m currently using. It is rich, crusty outside, moist inside. This year, I’ve discovered fresh pumpkin. I find it imparts a distinctive fresh and sweet taste to pumpkin bread. Very easy to make– just cut the pumpkin in half, remove the seeds and save them for your chickens or yourself. Depending on size of the pumpkin, chunk or leave in halves, place pulp down/skin up in a wide plate of water and microwave for about 10 minutes. Then scoop out the cooked soft pumpkin.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread

• 1 & 1/4 cup gluten-free flour (if using a flour mix, such as Pamela’s, that contains xanthan gum, baking soda and baking powder, omit those listed below.)
• 1/3 cup almond meal/flour
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 cup unsweetened cooked pumpkin pulp
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 3/4 broken pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan (medium, approx. 8×5 inches)

2. I do not use a mixer, but simply a whisk and a spatula. Whisk together all the dry ingredients. In another, larger bowl, combine and beat together by hand eggs, sugars, oil, applesauce. Mix in the orange juice and cooked pumpkin.

3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix well until smooth. Batter is quite wet and easy to mix. Add pecans. Pour batter into prepared pan.

4. Bake for approximately 1 hour. Loaf is done when toothpick inserted comes out clean. It will be dark. Let pan cool fifteen minutes before turning loaf out onto a plate.

Note on gluten-free flour: I’ve used Pamela’s Bread and Baking Mix, and I’ve used two separate blends of my own mixing. The different gluten-free flour blends produce a slightly different texture each time, but all are delicious.

I love this pumpkin bread with my afternoon tea. If it lasts that long in this house.

grace and peace,
CurtissAnn