Fall Pumpkin Olive Oil Bread

I have been in a bit of a rut lately and decided it was time to get out of it and take a bike ride this morning. I make it a goal for myself sometimes when I ride my bike to smile at everyone I pass. It is awesome to think that I made someone’s day a bit better by smiling at them and even if I didn't I made mine a bit better. I couldn't help to think to myself the whole ride, corny as it is that as I was giving out warm fuzzies to people passing by, at the same time the bike path was covered with fuzzy wuzzy caterpillars that I was constantly swerving to miss the whole ride. Who doesn't love seeing all the little fuzzy caterpillars this time of year? By the end of the bike ride it had done exactly what I needed it too and I just had to keep the fall atmosphere going in my apartment with some pumpkin bread!

Enough rambling about my day but it was my inspiration to make the bread today! I have had pumpkin puree in the cupboard and have been waiting to make this for awhile now. It was super simple and is supposed to be “healthy”. I followed the recipe exactly except for adding more pumpkin than was called for. I have had breads and cakes with olive oil before and they are always super moist and simply delicious. My day got a bit hectic and I had to wait to try a piece until this afternoon but it was worth the wait. It is super moist. The only thing I would do differently is put pumpkin seeds on top for some crunch as was suggested, but I didn't have any.

Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup honey

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and then combine the wet ingredients (eggs, pumpkin, sugar, olive oil, honey) in a large bowl to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a spoon until just combined and then poor into a 9x5 loaf pan. Spread the batter evenly and tap on the counter a few times and cook for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the bread cool for 15 minutes before taking it out of the pan.

Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Ellie Krieger