Pumpkin Bread with Odlums Coarse Wholemeal Flour
john barry
Checkout the terrain. It’s coarse, it’s wholemeal and it’s delicious.
Ever since March, I’ve noticed an uptick in the presence of brown bread recipes on the internet. From Saint Patricks Day straight into a quarantine, which resulted in a shortage in both flour and yeast, brown bread has gotten a lot of coverage on the web as an alternative to breads made with all purpose or white bread flour and yeast. I’m loving it because Irish brown bread is SO good and it's finally getting some of the recognition that it deserves! As you may know, I am a huge fan of Odlums Coarse Wholemeal Flour, the stuff that gives brown bread it's indescribable texture and sets it apart from all other breads. Famous for brown bread, Odlums can be used successfully in so many recipes. I substitute it one for one in yeasted bread recipes calling for whole wheat flour, and I’ve used it in tart dough, Rachel Allen’s brown scones, waffles, the list goes on. This week I discovered yet another use for this versatile flour - Pumpkin Bread.
I found some Pumpkin Bread in the freezer the other day. A whole loaf! Despite having a google doc that contains an inventory of the contents of my freezer, I still find surprises in there. Some unrecognizable, some, like this pumpkin bread, happily identifiable.
A couple of days ago the kids all descended upon me in hot pursuit of breakfast just as I was wrapping up an important project for work. I felt like a superhero as I popped the pumpkin bread into the microwave to defrost, fed them each a fat slice, and got right back to what I was doing. They too were amazed. Not by my super-powers, but by the sweet glory of pumpkin bread. I’m pretty sure that loaf was from a store-bought mix but it was still pretty good (and I was definitely grateful for its appearance). Now, 80-something days into quarantine, I don’t have pumpkin bread mix in my cupboard, so when Isla requested more pumpkin bread, I had to make one from scratch.
It never occurred to me to take a photo of it before eating some. #priorities
Feeling sort of guilty for allowing them to eat an entire loaf of pumpkin bread from a mix, likely with an unholy amount of sugar and bleached white flour involved, I decided to try to make one that was a bit more healthy. I’m so lucky to have a good source for Odlums coarse wholemeal flour, yes, the incredible, uniquely textured flour that gives brown bread its je ne sais quoi. I just found out that it’s GREAT for pumpkin bread too. Not to toot my own horn, but I’m so proud of this recipe. I absolutely just threw it together on a wing and a prayer, but somehow it really worked and I would make it again without changing a thing. Thanks to the coarse texture of the flour and the pumpkin, the bread came out both crunchy and moist without the use of much oil, and not too much sugar either, well, if you don’t count the chocolate chips.
While I was trying to add a little fiber and some vegetables to my kids’ diets, all they wanted was cake. So I put in lots of chocolate chips and knew that I struck the right cord, at least as far as they are concerned, when my two-year old started singing “Happy Birthday” after her first bite. Who cares if they think it’s cake when it’s really pretty good for them? I like the chocolate chips too. Sorry not sorry.
See? CAKE!
So try this out on your own kiddos, big and small, the Odlums really makes it special so please use it if you can get some. If you are in the Chicago area, Paddy’s is doing curbside sales and they have some!
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
2 cups Odlums coarse wholemeal flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice or mix of warm spices (e.g. ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice etc.)
1 15-oz can pumpkin or butternut squash puree
4 egg yolks (leftover from the frosting on Eve’s birthday cake - you can use 2 whole eggs)
⅓ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup sugar
⅔ cup brown sugar (I used the equivalent in Truvia for baking, a Stevia product, less sugar!)
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ - 1 cup chocolate chips (optional - dried fruit and/or nuts would also be good)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325F.
Spray an 8’ X 8’ cake pan with cooking spray or grease lightly with oil or butter.
Stir flour, salt, spices, baking soda and baking powder together in a small bowl.
In a larger bowl, whisk pumpkin puree, eggs, vanilla, oil and sugars together until smooth.
Using a silicone spatula, carefully fold flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until there are no dry streaks of flour remaining.
Fold in chocolate chips or other mix-ins if using.
Spoon batter into prepared cake pan and smooth top.
Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean.