Pumpkin Bread with dates and walnuts

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It is that time of the year.  It is Autumn and it is pumpkin time.  My daughter and I roasted a pumpkin this year for soup my daughter made.  I thought I was going to break my knife trying to cut into it.  I have never had a pumpkin that was so hard that it was difficult to push a sharp knife into.  But I persevered.  It got roasted.

I know everyone in the blog world has been making pumpkin everything since September 1, but I can be kinda slow sometimes.  I don't really Christmas shop until December 1 or so because why do it before then  (and certainly not on black Friday when the turkey hangover is kicking in and can only be cured by more turkey). What fun is that?  I can't stand how commercialized Christmas has become anyway and I just want to try and keep it fun.  I might just crochet book marks for everyone this year!  I digress.


My point is that I make pumpkin bread once a year because it is Autumn and pumpkin bread is really, really good.  This recipe is adapted from Joy of Cooking  1997 edition which is the same recipe as the 75th Anniversery edition, 2006.  I have both of these books.  You might ask "why do you have two Joy of Cooking books?" and I would have to answer you that I really have three.  Yup. That's right.  The first edition that I have is 1975 which I don't remember where or how I got it.  Sad that I don't remember.  One excuse could be that I was a child of the seventies. The '75 edition's pumpkin bread recipe is not the same as the newer editions.  More flour and less spices.  Interesting.  The reason I bought the '97 edition was because there were a lot of changes and it had been updated.  The third copy was because the 2nd copy fell apart and I got tired of chasing pages. I digress again.

 There they are in their well-used glory.  The bottom copy and new copy are in great 

condition but the copy under the whisk is completely falling apart. 

Anyhow,  I make pumpkin bread once a year and it is really good.  This recipe is for one loaf but I ALWAYS make two.  The recipe doubles easily.  I love the spiciness of this bread,  the chunks of toasted walnuts and dates.  I probably used pecans when I lived in Texas when I didn't even know what a walnut was.  Walnuts were not a nut of choice back then in Texas and probably still isn't.  I mean there are pecan trees everywhere.  South = pecans,
North = walnuts.

Here are some of my adaptations of the Joy of Cooking's pumpkin bread recipe:

I substituted white whole wheat flour for 1/2 of the all purpose and I believe you could do 100% with excellent results.  It probably wouldn't rise quite as much but I think it would work well.

I used dark brown sugar instead of light for a bit more molasses flavor that it gives. The white sugar could be reduced by 1/4 of a cup for a less sweet bread which I personally prefer but my family begs me not to mess with this recipe. 

Something came over me and I substituted 1/3 cup canola oil when it asked for 1/3 cup of shortening (I do believe they meant Crisco or hydrogenated shortening which is not something I use except maybe for pie crust).  Even though my brain short circuited on the shortening ingredient, it came out really well and I am going to use canola oil instead of butter in the future.

I also only put in a pinch of cloves because too much cloves is just way too much cloves.

I used whole milk but I am sure any % would work well. 

Here is the recipe:
Mix all the dry ingredients (including spices) together in one bowl.  Mix the milk and the vanilla together in another container (I used a 1-cup measure).

Mix the sugar and the canola oil in the mixer until it is completely blended.  This will take about 2 minutes on medium speed.  It will loose some of its grittiness.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until blended each time.  Add the pumpkin and blend well.

Add the flour mixture in thirds alternating with the milk, starting with the flour mixture.  Mix until just blended.  Remember over mixing toughens a quick bread, gluten is not you friend here.

Add the nuts

and dates.

Place in greased 9 X 5-inch loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until done (my loaf took 1 hour and 15 minutes).  Test for doneness with a bamboo skewer or toothpick, when it comes out clean or with a few crumbs the loaf is done.  This is a very moist loaf.

Let the loaf rest in the pan for 10 minutes or so.  Remove from pans and place on cooling rack for 30 minutes before slicing.

Plain is how I like it but toasted with butter or apple butter is divine.  And if you have a maple flavored spread, I don't know how that could go wrong! YUM.

 

Pumpkin Bread
makes one 9 X 5-inch loaf

3/4 cup (75 g) all purpose flour, unbleached
3/4 cup (90 g) white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of cloves
1/3 cup (78 ml) milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup (78 ml) canola oil
3/4 cup (144 g) white sugar
1/3 cup (66 g) dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup (180 g) canned pumpkin or homemade pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup (58 g) chopped walnuts (or pecans, 60 g), lightly toasted
1/3 cup (50 g) chopped dates (or raisins, 50 g)

Mix all the dry ingredients (including spices) together in one bowl.  Mix the milk and the vanilla together in another bowl or container.

Mix the sugar and the canola oil in a mixer until it is completely blended.  This will take about 2 minutes on medium speed.

Add the eggs one at a time.  Add the pumpkin and blend well.

Add the flour mixture in thirds alternating with the milk, starting and ending with the flour mixture.  Mix until just blended.  Stir in the nuts and dates.

Place in greased 9 X 5-inch loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until done (my loaf took 1 hour and 15 minutes).  Test for doneness with a bamboo skewer or toothpick, when it comes out clean or with just a few crumbs the loaf is done.  This is a very moist bread.

Let the loaf rest in the pan for 10 minutes or so.  Remove from pans and place on cooling rack for 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes:  Plain is how I like it but toasted with butter or apple butter is divine.  And if you have a maple flavored spread, I don't know how that could go wrong! YUM.

This recipe originally had 1 cup of granulated sugar (192 g), so if you like a sweeter bread then use this amount but I like a less sweet bread and I think the other flavors come out better with this version. 

This recipe can be easily doubled and the second loaf frozen.

Enjoy!

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