Organic EVOO Pumpkin Bread with Pumpkin Seed Topping

Do you know this feeling? You are ready for a snow day. They told you on the news. Emails from the school arrived. The kids finished the snow dance and put lots of ice cubes in the toilette. No, mine don’t do that, but I was told that is tradition in other families.  Yes, up to 9 inches of snow, that would at least give a delayed school start or even a day off, right? Sleeping in, no morning rush, that’s what we all hoped for. So, we check in the morning. What? Not enough snow, not even a delayed start? Come on. That can’t be happening. So, off we go, another regular school day.

Since I couldn’t get out of my snowy driveway I stayed home baking. Somethingquick, easy as 1-2-3 and in the oven in under 10 minutes, an organic extra virgin olive oil pumpkin bread.

This is a healthier version of pumpkin bread prepared with organic flours, organic pumpkin puree, and organic extra virgin olive oil to keep it moist and fresh. Bake two loafs to store one in the freezer for another day.

I just wanted to share with you that I always use organic ingredients whenever possible. The flour is organic, unbleached and not enriched, the eggs are local and certified humane, and I always use kosher salt. The organic pumpkin puree is canned and still left in my pantry from last year when I was told that there would be a pumpkin shortage and I bought way to many cans at once.

I baked this moist pumpkin bread for my teens returning from school after this year’salready second snowy day. It turned out moist, not  sweet and the pumpkin seeds add a very lovely crunch. My kids enjoyed it with a big mug of hot chocolate.

Adapt the recipe to your liking and add some nuts or even chocolate chips.

Recipe makes one loaf.

Ingredients:

Dry:
*  3/4 cup (90 g) organic whole wheat flour
*  2/3 cup (80 g) organic unbleached AP flour
*  1/2 teaspoon baking powder
*  1 teaspoon baking soda
*  1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
*  1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
*  1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Wet:
*  2 eggs, large ( I use Nestfresh)
*  1 cup (227 g) organic canned pumpkin puree
*  1/2 cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
*  1/3 cup (83 ml) organic extra virgin olive oil
*  1/3 cup (83 ml) honey

Topping:
*  2 Tablespoons (20 g) unsalted pumpkin seeds

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C). Grease a 9×5-inch (23×12-cm) loaf pan.

In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients until well combined.

In a separate bowl mix all the wet ingredients until well combined.

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Don’t over mix!

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and flatten the top. Sprinkle evenly with pumpkin seeds.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the bread rest in baking pan for 15 minutes before removing it. Let cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Enjoy!

Adapted from finecooking.com.