I’m no pastry chef, but I do have a better understanding of baking thanks to Dorie, and she has encouraged me not to be a stranger to the altercation of recipes. In cooking, this is easier because there are only a few hard and fast rules about heat and its application and reaction to different foodstuffs. But baking is a finer craft. The science of leavening, the alchemy of acidity, the accuracy of a measurement can all mean the difference between a simply edible end result or a spectacular accomplishment.
I like a little extra nutmeg grated across the top, too.
If you are a grab and go breakfaster, you will appreciate this bread and its moderate healthfulness. I lowered the sugar content just enough to make it seem more virtuous but not enough to make it stodgy, and the rolled oats add a wholesome stability and a good amount of protein too. The simple brown sugar and pecan topping is crunchy on the first day, but in time becomes a syrup that melts into the top should you choose to store your bread at room temperature as I do. Wrapped in foil, I’d bet you could get nearly a week out of this bread in the refrigerator, but I prefer to store it under a glass dome (on a glass plate) at room temperature. Whatever the variation, it’s usually gone by the third day.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Bread (adapted from Dorie Greenspan)
Topping:
¼ c. brown sugar (dark or light, but I prefer dark)
¼ c. pecans, chopped
¼ t. cinnamon
Bread:
2 eggs
1 c. pumpkin puree
¼ c. applesauce
⅓ c. coconut oil, melted (or another vegetable oil)
¼ c. buttermilk or plain yogurt
1 ¼ c. AP flour
½ c. granulated sugar
1 ½ t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
¾ t. cinnamon
½ t. salt
¼ t. nutmeg
pinch of cloves
1 c. rolled oats
Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift (or stir to combine) the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir in the oats.
In a medium bowl, beat eggs and add the pumpkin puree, applesauce, coconut oil, and buttermilk.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix well by hand, taking care not to over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 55-65 minutes, until a tester poked into the center comes out clean.
I think it is the texture of this bread that really does it for me. Somewhere between custard and baked oatmeal, it redefines the ordinarily tight crumb of more common quick breads like banana bread. Dorie’s original recipe adds dried fruit to the batter, figs being some of my favorites to combine with apple.
I truly love the progression of Fall baking. After a hot Summer, the cooler weather September brings makes me positively itchy to start my oven. I usually begin with a few cakes, since hot weather really doesn’t bring my cake-eating appetite to the table. Now, at just over a week from November, it’s prime time for quick breads, muffins, and all sorts of chill banishing carbohydrates. The upcoming holidays and the visitors they bring deserve home bakery like only Dorie can do them, so why not even double the recipe and give one loaf away? However you choose to alter her recipe, I’m sure it will receive a warm reception.
