Scribbles & Munch

Pumpkin Beer Bread from left to right: With Raisins and Walnuts, With Bittersweet Chocolate Chunks, and Savory Plain

      This weekend recipe continues my Halloween preparations by using pumpkin, but also incorporates another passing fad. See, for my household, this autumn and winter will be the Long Seasons of Beer Bread.  Back in August, I helped cater a friend's pool party.  There were over 60 people invited, and my friend insisted that a big chunk of them preferred the popular domestic lager I tend to refer to as "cheap-ass beer."  So under her instruction, we bought four cases of it--that's 96 cans of beer.  Now, guess how many of those beers were consumed at the party?  No, really, guess.  I'll put the answer at the bottom of the post.*
      That leaves her with a garage fridge overflowing with cans of crappy, low-alcohol beverage, the name of which rhymes with "spud blight" (which is also, coincidentally, how it tastes).  My friend doesn't drink, except for champagne toasts at weddings.  I drink on occasion, but when I do drink beer I prefer craft brews with a flavor and texture resembling chocolate milkshakes.  So what to do with almost 100 cans of cheap-ass beer?
      This is why beer bread was invented.
      Beer bread is great with soup or stew, and fabulous for grilled cheese sandwiches.  But you know me, I like breakfast.  So when I noticed the pumpkin ales that become available for the holidays, my mental gears began to turn.  That's why this weekend I delved into the Great Pumpkin Beer Bread Experiment!

Baking pumpkin bread is a much better way of welcoming Spiritual Seasonal Gourds than catching a cold by waiting in a pumpkin patch.  Trust me.

      I took my favorite beer bread recipe, doubled the dry ingredients, and added 15oz of pure pumpkin purée to the beer and butter.  Then I divided the batter into three loaves and doctored each a little differently.  One I left plain, just to see what it would taste like.  One I added a touch of honey, traditional pumpkin bread spices, golden raisins, and walnuts, for a heartier autumn loaf.  And one I added a little spice, honey, and a cup of freshly chopped bittersweet chocolate, to test my spouse's theory that "everything is better with chocolate."  Then I baked, and this morning we ate.
      I'm happy to report that I would consider all three loaves a success.

      Assuming that you - like most sane people - aren't interested in messing around trying to divide bread dough into three equal parts and making each into an unique recipe, I'm going to provide the recipe for each as a three loaf batch.  Meaning if you follow these recipes, you will wind up with three loaves of one kind of bread.  Which is fine, because bread freezes really well.  Or you could give them away and be really popular.  Just don't give any to me, I've got plenty of beer bread!

Z.D.'s Pumpkin Beer Bread
makes three 8 x 4 loaves of plain bread

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter melted butter
2 Cups whole wheat flour
4 Cups AP flour
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2/3 Cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
12 oz. Cheap-Ass Beer
14.5 oz pure pumpkin purée

Directions: 
 - Pre-heat your oven to 375º F.  Brush some of the butter to coat the inside of three 8 x 4 inch metal loaf pans.  Reserve the rest.

I tend to melt my butter in the pans in the pre-warming oven while I make the dough.  Then I just pour it out and grease with what's left in the bottom.

 - In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and nutmeg.  Set aside.

 - In a smaller bowl, whisk together the beer, pumpkin, and all but about 1 T of remaining butter.  Stir into the flour mixture until fully incorporated.

This will take some mixing, and the finished dough will be fairly stiff, so make sure your bowl is big enough.

 - Divide the dough among the three loaf pans, pressing the dough into the corners. Bake for 40 minutes.  Remove from the oven just long enough to brush the tops with the remaining butter, then place back in the oven and finish baking, about 5 minutes.

 - Cool in pans about 5-10 minutes, then turn out loaves onto a rack to finish cooling.  Store at room temperature, wrapped in plastic.  Or, when cool, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 2 months.

A full flavor, like a good squash.

      This is moister than regular wheat bread, but less dense and yeastier than regular pumpkin bread.  Serve with chili, or a nice beef and barley soup.  Alternatively, slice thin and toast to accompany a good autumn cheese plate, with crisp grapes and apples.
      OR...you can try one of the variations below!  Follow the regular recipe, but add the additional ingredients as specified in the directions.


Z.D.'s Spiced Pumpkin Beer Bread with Raisins and Walnuts
makes three 8 x 4 loaves of hearty autumn raisin bread

Additional Ingredients:
1 Tablespoons cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger (alternatively, add 1/2 Cup chopped crystalized ginger)
1 Cup golden raisins
1 Cup roughly chopped walnuts
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 Cup canola oil
3 to 6 Tablespoons of honey, to taste
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions:
 - Pre-heat oven and prepare pans per the original recipe.  When whisking together the dry ingredients, add the cinnamon, ginger, raisins, and walnuts.

 - When whisking together the wet ingredients, add the eggs, oil, and honey (the honey is only to add a touch more sweetness, so adjust to your preference).  Beat well before adding to the dry.

 - Bake per the original recipe.  After removing from oven the final time, immediately dust the top of the loaves with powdered sugar, if using.

My spouse isn't a huge raisin fan, but in the right recipe I think they're delightful.  Nothing says "cool weather breakfast" to me like a good slice of toasted raisin bread with cinnamon butter!

      Serve warm with honeybutter for breakfast, brunch, or tea. Also makes for an interesting twist on a grilled cheese or peanutbutter sandwich.


Z.D.'s Spiced Pumpkin Beer Bread with Chocolate
makes three 8 x 4 loaves of chocolately enhanced bread

Additional Ingredients:
2 tsp cinnamon
2 Cups roughly chopped bittersweet baking chocolate
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 Cup canola oil
3 to 6 Tablespoons of honey, to taste

Directions:
 - Pre-heat oven and prepare pans per the original recipe.  When whisking together the dry ingredients, add the cinnamon and chocolate.

 - When whisking together the wet ingredients, add the eggs, oil, and honey (the honey is only to add a touch more sweetness, so adjust to your preference).  Beat well before adding to the dry.

      Bake and cool per the original recipe.  Serve...whenever.  It's chocolate.  It's a nice way to work chocolate into your breakfast without feeling like you're over-indulging by eatng dessert first.  Alternatively, if you wanted to 'zert it up, toast and add Nutella.  Or make into a sandwich with sweetened cream cheese and slices of banana!

I made this specifically to test the theory that "everything is better with chocolate."  While this by no means definitively prooves said theory, it certainly doesn't debunk it!

*If you guessed "4," you are correct.