Whole wheat pumpkin bread recipe made with olive oil

November 7, 5:04 PMKnoxville Healthy Food ExaminerElizabeth Kelly

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Whole wheat pumpkin bread: sweet and wholesome. (Liz Kelly)

Delicious and Healthy Fall Cooking

• Butternut Squash Muffins
• Brunch-Perfect Apple Pancakes
• Crock-Pot Squash and Apple Soup
• Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

A healthier pumpkin bread? Wait, don't run away yet. Forget everything you know about dry and tasteless whole wheat bakery products. This pumpkin bread stays as moist as the traditional versions you're used too (perhaps it's all that juicy pumpkin), but you can eat it completely guilt-free.

Olive oil used to be ignored as a baking ingredient, but it's enjoying a comeback as inventive cooks are discovering that the lemony taste of olive oil works well in cookies, cakes and pies. Skeptical? Check out the great Mark Bittman's recipe for olive oil cookies.

The bonus is that olive oil, unlike butter, is heart healthy and rich in monounsaturated fat and polyphenolic compounds. Baking your pumpkin bread with olive oil instead of butter also cuts the saturated fat --that's the kind your doctor keeps telling you to avoid.

And before you ask: no, olive oil does not make your sweet bakery goods taste like olives. The effect is more citrusy, especially when you use a good quality olive oil. If you're dead-set against the taste of it, try using a light version.

The blend of whole wheat and white flour keeps this perfect-for-fall bread loaf from being too dense. The result is a sweet, wholesome pumpkin bread you'll make repeatedly (I'm on my third batch in only two weeks).

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

Nonstick spray
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup pure pumpkin puree
1/2 cup olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x5" loaf pan with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, combine whole wheat and white flour, salt, baking soda and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, olive oil, eggs and water. Slowly stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined, taking care not toovermix. Pour into greased pan and bake 45-55 minutes, or until the bread passes the toothpick test. Let cool.

Note: I often make my whole wheat pumpkin loaves in two smaller loaf pans, which lessens the cooking time by about 15 minutes. Feel free to experiment with cake pan sizes, but be aware that you will need to adjust baking times accordingly.

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