Every couple weeks or so, we send out a little roundup of new recipes, techniques, and tutorials that we’ve recently posted on the site. Occasionally we announce exclusive giveaways to newsletter subscribers as well. We won’t spam you with ads or share or sell your email address. Every email we send has a 1-click unsubscribe link if you decide it’s not for you.
Pumpkin Ale Bread
Last week we found an interesting recipe for Pumpkin Ale Bread on the web and we were intrigued. Hey, it’s Fall. Pumpkins are out there. Were people making beer from them and selling that? What if a good quick-bread could truly be made with the resulting pumpkin ale? Could we find said ale locally, or would we have to resort to a less seasonal variety? What if we could make it healthier than the recipe we found so that we could feel slightly less guilty about consuming great quantities? We set about to answer these pressing questions.
The result was this DARN GOOD recipe — nearly all whole grain and half the sugar of the original recipe. It still satisfies like a dessert should, without being a glycemic nightmare.
Yes, we did find Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale at our local grocer. (And it was on sale!) I think it added great moisture, flavor, and some leavening value.
We made both the currant version and the chocolate chip version (pictured here). We could have baked it longer so that the rise held as the loaf cooled, but we are a bit impatient. It was still really great. (Make sure you insert the testing toothpick down through the center of the loaf for a more accurate reading.)
The loaves went fast at the party we took them to, so it’s not just us. This loaf will definitely be added to our regular holiday goody list!
Healthier Pumpkin-Ale Bread
Yield: One 9-inch loaf (About 12 servings)
Time: 1¼ hours
Oil or butter for greasing the pan
1¼ cup whole-wheat pastry flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch ground nutmeg
Pinch ground cardamom (optional)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup pumpkin purée
½ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin ale
½ cup chopped pecans
OPTIONAL: ⅓ cup dried currants OR ½ cup dark chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan. Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice in a large bowl.
2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat (or in a medium bowl in the microwave). Remove from the heat. Stir in the pumpkin and brown sugar, then stir in the eggs. Finally, stir in the pumpkin ale. Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Add pecans and other optional ingredient, then transfer the batter to the greased pan.
3. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool thoroughly, then slice and serve. (Leftover pumpkin bread can be wrapped in foil or plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to a few days.)
Pumpkin Ale Bread