Double Pumpkin Quick Bread [with Pumpkin Beer]

I know I said I was waiting for November to pull out the pumpkin, but by November, I really meant October. Obviously pumpkins are a Halloween necessity. Anyway, I failed. It's almost October, so I suppose it's ok. I caved because I really wanted pumpkin bread last weekend but settled on banana bread. While I like banana bread a lot, I was still craving pumpkin bread. Why? Because this recipe for Pumpkin Honey Beer Quick Bread from Cooking Light looked so moist and pumpkiny. I've never made (or had) beer bread, but it's one of C's favorite baked goods to whip up last minute to take to work. With two men in the house, I figured that even if it came out tasting like beer, it would disappear quickly.

The original recipe called for honey beer, but I have absolutely no idea what that is or where to get it. Mead? Apparently not the same thing. When I asked C if we had any beer laying around that was sort of sweet to use in pumpkin bread, he handed me a pumpkin ale from last fall that apparently wasn't good for drinking (and therefore still hanging out in the pantry). I have to disagree with his stance, because I actually drank a little bit of it and that says a lot. I definitely didn't taste pumpkin, but it was also a pretty weak beer (probably why I could drink it--not that I'd drink a whole bottle).

I've been using a lot of whole wheat pastry flour in place of all purpose flour and am getting bolder every time I bake  (you'll note I used mostly whole wheat pastry flour in this recipe). I also decided that quick breads are often a bit too oily, so I subbed out some of the oil in favor of the last little bit of our homemade apple butter. I cut the sugar a lot, but added in just a touch of honey since I didn't use honey beer. I used canned pumpkin puree, but if I had a squash or pumpkin on hand, I would have used that instead.

Objective
Make pumpkin bread with pumpkin beer based on Pumpkin Honey Beer Quick Bread from Cooking Light.

Materials
1 cup + 2 tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp (heaping) ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp (heaping) pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup pumpkin beer
2 tbsp. + 2 tsp. ground flaxseeds
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. granulated white sugar
1 tbsp. honey
1/3 cup oil (I recommend 50:50 light olive oil and apple butter/sauce)
1/3 cup pumpkin beer
2 large eggs
7.5 oz. (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp.) pumpkin puree

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350º.  You can make either a 9x5" loaf or 2-4 mini loaves, depending on the size of your mini loaf pans. Grease loaf pan(s) and line the bottom with greased parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. In a small bowl, stir the flaxseeds into 1/4 cup beer. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl (you can use your mixer, but it's isn't necessary), stir together the sugar, honey, oil, apple butter, and 1/3 cup beer until homogenous. Note: it's going to be wet and sloshy, so if you use a mixer, start on the lowest speed setting. Add the flaxseed mixture and pumpkin puree and stir to mix. Fold in the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
4. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan(s), filling the pans 2/3 to 3/4 of the way to the top.
5. Bake at 350º, just until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. For a 9x5" loaf, that's about 70 minutes; for mini loaves, around 45 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then loosen the edge with a plastic knife, flip out, and cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap tightly in saran wrap and store at room temperature.

Results
The loaves are moist and flavorful with a beautiful golden yellow hue. You can't taste the beer very much, but you can taste pumpkin and spice. The crust is a nice golden brown on the mini-loaves and a deep brown on the 9x5" loaf (see photo under Supplementary Materials).

Discussion and Future Directions
Well, I think I found the best way to consume beer! I will be happy to make this bread again. The flavor is very pumpkiny and not too sweet. This recipe is nice because it uses whole grains and flaxseed, has reduce sugar and oil. I took a loaf to C at work this afternoon (he's on call tonight) and "they" liked it (though did wonder if all the pumpkin flavor came from the pumpkin beer or if it also had pumpkin puree in it). Now, considering "they" are residents who work way too much and only have access to McDonald's on nights and weekends, I don't know that it would even have to be good for it to be consumed with gusto. Nevertheless, I'll take it as a compliment.

Next time you're craving pumpkin bread, I say you give this one a try (especially if you have pumpkin beer on hand). If you don't have pumpkin beer on hand, I suggest buying a 6-pack, using one of the beers to make this bread, then gifting the rest of the beer plus a mini loaf of bread to someone you love who loves beer. Brilliant, right?

Supplementary Materials