Spiced Pumpkin Bread

I've talked before about how much I love fall, and in Michigan we are still having some very fall-like days. In between the days where mother nature doesn't know what season it is, of course. Even though all the hunters were complaining, I was enjoying the warm rain we got on Sunday. (Well, until the wind got scary and people started posting about tornadoes on facebook. Then, not so much.) It was a perfect fall baking day.....

And since it was a fall baking day, that meant pumpkin! Well, I was debating between pumpkin bread and Nutella banana bread, but the pumpkin won out. I have a pumpkin bread recipe that I love (as well as a pumpkin streusel muffin recipe), but I wanted to make some changes to make it a little healthier. 

(And who said healthier is a bad thing? Look at how tasty that looks!)  

I was debating on the changes to make, and decided on this: sub part of the butter for Greek yogurt, cut down on the sugar, and sub half the flour for wheat flour. I was debating on also switching the sugar to brown sugar, but decided against it. (Didn't really make it any healthier, would add some calories, and since there was already molasses in this, I was afraid of adding brown sugar.)

Since I was making so many changes at once, I cut the recipe in half so I would only make one loaf. (That way, if it failed, I only had to pitch one!) 

Overall, we are definitely pleased by the changes! Cutting down on the sugar makes a significant difference in taste; it tastes less like a sweet bread now. We all still loved it, but if you prefer a sweeter quick bread, I would add the full amount of sugar. It would be easy to vary the sugar content (from ¾ to 1 cup per loaf) depending on how sweet you would like it. 

One thing that I would suggest, that I didn't think of beforehand, was increasing the spices if you are cutting down on the sugar. The pumpkin is more noticeable, but the cinnamon & cloves aren't very dominant. I honestly can't say if that's because of the sugar decrease, or if I just didn't notice it before. Either way, I would suggest increasing the spices.

To make things easier for people who don't want to have the healthier version or who want to compare, I'm posting both. Check them out, & let me know if you make one or both!


First, the version I made today: (this makes one loaf, just double if you would like to make 2)

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened    
• 1 ½ tablespoons Greek yogurt 
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 eggs    
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• ⅓ cup orange juice    
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract    
• ¾ cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (to double, use 1 ½ cup + ⅓ cup)
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder    
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt    
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a bowl, cream butter, yogurt, and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add the pumpkin, orange juice, molasses and vanilla. 
3. Combine dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture and mix until blended. Pour into a greased and floured 9”x5” loaf pan.
4. Bake for 65-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 
5. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from the pan to wire rack. 

Yield/Time

16 Servings

Prep: 15 min. Bake: 65 min. + cooling

Nutrition
120 calories per slice




Now, the original (this makes 2 loaves, cut in half if you would like to make 1):
(Oh, and please note: if you make it without the whole wheat flour, it's NOT going to look like my picture. I don't have any pictures of the original recipe, but there is a significant color difference when you switch out some all-purpose flour for whole wheat.)

 Spiced Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

• ¾ cup butter, softened    
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs    
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• ⅔ cup orange juice    
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract    
• 3 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder    
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt    
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¾ to 1 teaspoon ground cloves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add the pumpkin, orange juice, molasses and vanilla. 
3. Combine dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture and mix until blended. Pour into two greased and floured 9”x5” loaf pans.
4. Bake for 65-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 
5. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from the pans to wire racks.

Yield/Time

32 Servings

Prep: 15 min. Bake: 65 min. + cooling

Nutrition Facts

145 calories per slice

Source (for original): Taste of Home (Note: The original original also called for pecans & raisins, to be added after the dry ingredients. I don't like pecans or raisins, so I never made it that way.)