Best Vegan Pumpkin Bread

Well I’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately, but if I don’t start spending some more time on the computer no one’s going to know about it.  Last week Philippe and I went back to Kansas for a quick visit and while it was unseasonably warm, it was still fall and the sight of pumpkins on doorsteps made the pumpkin craving kick in. I tweaked an old pumpkin bread recipe from my mom’s recipe box with pretty decent results. In hindsight, it could have handled another couple of tablespoons of spice. A loaf topped with chopped, candied ginger would have been nice as well.

This recipe makes a big ‘o’ batch, who doesn’t love to get a loaf of pumpkin bread as a gift?

Whew that’s a long list of ingredients! Again, use what you have on hand when it comes to spices and sweeteners. I used the apple cider because it was in the house, but you could use water or more milk if you don’t have any.

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Combine ground flax and 3/4 cup warm water in a small bowl and set aside.
• Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through allspice) in a bowl and mix well with a fork or whisk.
• In a large measuring cup, combine milk and apple cider (if using) plus the cider vinegar to make buttermilk.
• Measure sugar, maple syrup, and oil into a large bowl. Add flax/water mixture.  Beat with a mixer (or by hand) at high speed until well blended. Pour in milk mixture and beat to incorporate.
• Add 2/3 cup water and the gigantic can of pumpkin, beating at low speed until blended.
• Fold flour mixture into pumpkin mixture, just until combined. Avoid over mixing because you want to get it into the oven ASAP so that it will rise while the acids react with the baking soda.
• Spoon batter into lightly oiled pans. I used 2 9 x 5-inch loaf pans and three small pans.
• Sprinkle toppings of your choice (or not) evenly over each loaf. (In hindsight, I would have used dark chocolate and pressed the chunks lightly down into the batter.)
• Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire rack.

Enjoy!