Thursday, November 18, 2010

Maple Walnut Butternut Squash Bread

I love pumpkin, butternut squash, acorn squash, delicata squash etc. All squash, pretty much. Of all the squashes, I find that butternut is one of the most versatile (a close runner-up to pumpkin). I love pretty much anything butternut squash (except this soup I had the other day, note to self: don't mix vanilla with butternut squash, it tastes strange!)

Anyway, I found this recipe through the website Tastespotting (one of my favorite sites because of all the gorgeous food pictures) and HAD to try it. It combines a lot of my favorite ingredients, plus it's pretty healthy (especially the way I made it). You can find the original recipe here and look below for my take! It's not a savory bread, but more of a sweet bread. However, it isn't TOO sweet, and doesn't use any refined sugar! It would make a nice breakfast bread, or a healthy dessert.

Vegan Maple Walnut Butternut Squash Bread
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1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup oat bran (instead of flax, since I don't use flax)
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
A few pinches of sea salt
1 heaping tsp ceylon cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (or ground, if you must)
1/2 tsp ground cloves
Ener-G egg substitute mix for 2 eggs (or 2 [hopefully organic & free-range] eggs if you aren't vegan)
1 cup butternut squash puree (I used canned organic)
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted (I don't have walnut oil, so I used this instead)
3/4 cup maple syrup (I had to augment a bit with some agave because I ran out of maple syrup)
1 tsp good vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped freshly toasted walnuts (I toast them in a cast iron pan for a few minutes on med-high)

Mix all the dry ingredients (minus the walnuts) together with a whisk in a medium-sized bowl. In a separate larger bowl, add all the wet ingredients and mix well (I whisked them for about 2 minutes fairly vigorously). When the wet ingredients are well incorporated, mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the chopped walnuts, and pour the mix into a lightly greased loaf pan (I just used evoo spray to grease the pan). Bake at 325 degrees for about 65 minutes (it took me almost that long, I kept checking because I don't trust our oven at all), then let cool in the pan a bit before turning on to a rack to cool.

Changes I'd make next time? Definitely MORE nutmeg. I often will add a lot of extra spice to baked goods because I rarely find them spicy enough. I didn't use enough nutmeg, and I will next time. Nutmeg is perfect with butternut squash (ever had butternut squash ravioli with nutmeg and sage? Pretty incredible stuff...) and it really needed more in the bread. However, it still tastes great, and reminds me a lot of the taste of pumpkin pie.

What are some of your favorite healthy breakfast bread recipes? I love making baked goods for in the morning that are super healthy and delicious, and I'd love to hear your ideas! :)

Have a great day!
Carrie

2 comments:

  1. Sounds delicious!! Let me know how it turns out 'cause I'll have to put it on my "to-make" list. I'm always looking for healthy recipes that I would actually eat (instead of give away).

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  2. It is super good! :) You should definitely try it! xo

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