Recipe: Seminole Pumpkin Bread

Recipe adapted from New York Times Cooking. Makes 2 loaves.

*To prepare the pumpkin, roast until fully cooked, scrape the meat away from the skin, puree in a blender or food processor and strain with cheesecloth for a few hours. You will end up with a less-watery pumpkin puree that is wonderful for baking.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/4 cup bourbon (or water or apple cider)

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 c pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1/2 c olive or vegetable oil

2 c all-purpose flour

1 c whole wheat flour (or buckwheat)

1 3/4 c light brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

chopped pecans or walnuts as a topping (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees and arrange a rack in the center. Grease two 8-inch loaf pans with butter or line with parchment paper.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to med. and cook until the butter turns to a fragrant, nutty brown. Watch carefully, as it can go quickly from perfectly browned to burned. Allow browned butter to cool slightly.

In a measuring cup, combine bourbon (or apple cider) and vanilla. Add water until you reach the 2/3 c mark. In a large bowl, whisk together bourbon mixture, pumpkin puree, eggs and oil. With a spatula, scrape the brown butter from the skillet into the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine. In another bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, whole wheat (or buckwheat) flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom. Pour liquid ingredients into dry and stir to combine.

Divide batter between two greased loaf pans (top with nuts if using). Place pans on a baking sheet and transfer to oven. Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow breads to cool completely before removing from pans.