Great Tasting Pumpkin Bread
with some Special Twists
I have been experimenting with baking lately using natural nut flours with all natural ingredients. So far I have baked banana, pumpkin, and carrot bread. All are great natural low sugar breads that make a great after dinner treat.
This pumpkin bread is a modified paleo recipe that I have added some special twists to.
The first thing you should do is preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Now I bake this at sea level and it takes about 25-30 minutes. Other altitudes may need additional time.
Next gather the necessary ingredients and believe they are not many. So this part is easy. The pumpkin is best used from a can, just make sure it is 100% pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling. Also nuts are optional, I have used walnuts, almonds, and pecans. By far pecans are my favorite.
Here is a list of the ingredients you will need:
- 1 Cup of 100% Canned Pumpkin
- 1/2 Cup of Coconut Flour
- 5 Eggs
- 1/4 Cup of Coconut Oil
- 1 tsp of baking soda
- 1/4 Cup of Honey
- 1 tsp of Almond Extract
- 1-2 Tbsp of Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 4 – 92% Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Squares
- 1 Cup of Chopped Nuts (I use Pecans)
- 1-2 Stevia Packets
- Coconut Oil (see directions for crumble below)
Just a note on coconut flour, it soaks up a lot of liquid. So you do not need as much as other flours. For instance in some recipes I use 2 cups of almond flour but would only use 1/2 cup of coconut flour if I substituted and more eggs for more liquid. Remember high quality ingredients will lead to a better tasting bread.
Add all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl (coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon), except for the chocolate and nuts (set aside for after the batter is made). Then add the wet ingredients; pumpkin, eggs, coconut oil, vanilla, and honey.
Make sure the bowl is large enough to mix the ingredients in, without them flying all over. I use a hand mixer but a stand mixer would work just as fine. I like the ability to move around the bowl and get the mix to a better consistency. Mix it until very smooth.
Next liberally spray a bread pan with non-stick spray,
Take the 4 dark chocolate squares and finely chop them. Next take 1/2 of the batter and put that in the bread pan. Then evenly sprinkle the chopped dark chocolate over the batter. You can use pretty much any chocolate here, but I use the 92% for less added sugar.
Next fine chop the nuts of your choice. Combine the nuts and stevia (packets) in a bowl with enough coconut oil to coat the nuts evenly.
Take the remaining batter and add that to the bread pan on top of the dark chocolate. Take the nut mixture you just made and evenly coat the top of the bread batter.
And now just pop it into the oven which should be heated to a nice 400 degrees, and bake it for 20 to 25 minutes. Use the toothpick method to check if it is done. When finished remove and put on a cooling rack to cool.
Once cooled I usually put it into tin foil and refrigerate it. I slice off a piece each night for a great end of the day treat. I can get 10-12 slices per loaf. Notice the dark chocolate layer running through the middle and the nice nut crumble top. This is delicious.
CONCLUSION
This is an easy to bake recipe and it really does taste great. It will be moderate in calories but as you can see it has very few ingredients and will be paleo and clean eating friendly.