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Monday, January 24, 2011

Whole Wheat Quick Bread with Pumpkin Seeds

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I knew this bread was going to be good from the moment I opened the hot oven to remove it. Standing tall with a lightly browned exterior, it smelled even better than it looked. I was dying to immediately dig right in, but forced myself to wait overnight so I could photograph it in the daylight. Oh, the life of a food blogger.

The wait was well worth it. After snapping a few pictures of this bread, I then proceeded to spoil my dinner when I immediately toasted a slice and spread a thick slab of strawberry preserves over the top. Heaven. In. My. Mouth. This bread is chewy with a subtle crunch from the pumpkin seeds. It has a sweet undertone, tasting faintly like honey (though honey is not in the ingredients!). Eaten dry and at room temperature it's good, but a little time in the toaster oven elevates this bread to new levels. It's good with jelly, peanut butter, or butter. Too dense and hearty for a sandwich bread, this is best eaten for breakfast or alongside of a warming soup. We ate ours with sweet potato and kale soup, which I recently remade, re-photographed, and loved just as much the second time around!

This will be made again. The first loaf barely lasted beyond twenty-four hours in our house!

One Year Ago: Greek Salad Pita Sandwiches


Whole Wheat Quick Bread with Pumpkin Seeds
as seen on Itzy's Kitchen, adapted from Amanda's Cookin'

Ingredients:
-2 cups whole wheat flour
-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup wheat germ
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
-1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
-1 tsp salt
-4 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas), plus a handful for topping the bread
-1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
-2 large eggs
-4 tbsp butter, melted
-coarse salt, for sprinkling

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 9 x 5 loaf pan and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix flours, wheat germ, sugars, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir in 1 cup of the pepitas.
3. In a separate bowl, mix buttermilk with eggs and melted butter, whisking to combine. Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and stir, just until combined. Batter will be thick and sticky.
4. Spoon batter into loaf pan and spread out evenly with a spatula. Top with additional pepitas and coarse salt. Bake for 50-60 minutes (mine was good at 50 minutes!), until loaf is browned on top and sounds hollow when tapped.
5. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing and allowing to cool completely.