After a few minutes worth of mixing, toss together some of your favourite ingredients; a bit of tang, a measure of crunch and pop it in the oven. Orange Date Pumpkin Bread is an easy, fast treat.
Quick breads and loaves are so basic anyone can turn out a good one. All you need is a couple of bowls, a set of measuring utensils (cups & spoons), two loaf pans, a whisk, and a spatula. Actually, scratch that, you really don’t need the whisk a spatula will do.
Snack-a-licious
Pair Orange Date Pumpkin Bread with your morning coffee or a bold tea, have it for breakfast or treat yourself at snack time. If you have hungry teens I’m willing to bet it’s gone in a day. This recipe freezes well. It also doubles easily and if you so desire, you can switch formats and make Orange Date Pumpkin Muffins instead. Just adjust your baking time (18 – 20 minutes depending on your oven).
In this case, I made one BIG loaf, that rises up and domes well, instead of two smaller loaves. That meant a longer baking time (about 70 minutes) and reducing the temperature to 300°F in the final 20 minutes of baking to be sure my Orange Date Pumpkin Bread didn’t dry out.
Oh, Yee Great Pumpkin
Pumpkin isn’t just for harvest time, it’s such a rich, round flavour it makes a great background in just about any dough, any time. In this recipe it’s just that, adding a layer of colour and subtle taste that amplifies the tang of the orange and the chewy resonance of a good Medjool date.
There’s something so right about baking on cold winter days. It makes a house smell more like… home.
A few minutes worth of mixing and pop it in the oven for an easy, fast treat. This Orange Date Pumpkin Bread recipe is sure to please!
Ingredients
Scale
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups canned unseasoned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup canola oil
zest & juice of 2 oranges (zest coarsely grated)
3/4 cup chopped pitted dates
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Coat two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with non-stick spray and line bottom with parchment paper for good measure.
In a large bowl add purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt then whisk to combine. Grate orange rind into dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl whisk egg, brown sugar, pumpkin puree oil, and orange juice. Fold pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients, add dates & nuts, and mix until just combined. Scrape batter into the prepared pan(s) and smooth the top.
Bake loaves until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 to 65 minutes, depending on your oven. Cool Orange Date Pumpkin Bread in their respective pans for 10 minutes or so. Run a slim knife around the edges then turn loaves onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
For best results, and a clean-cut, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight then cut with a serrated blade, or bread knife.
Cooking in her home kitchen just outside Ottawa, Canada; Cori Horton is a food photographer and recipe blogger. A Cordon Bleu-trained Chef, Cori spent five years as the owner of Nova Scotia's Dragonfly Inn and has been sharing all things delicious - right here - since 2010.
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