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"Too Many Eggs" Pumpkin Bread

Apr 11, 2010

Recipe Type:

If you have backyard poultry, you probably have a lot of eggs right now. My ducks are laying about 7 eggs a day -- you do the math! The following is a recipe that makes 4 loaves of pumpkin bread using a total of 8 eggs. The extra bread freezes well. FYI, the original version of this recipe used all-purpose flour and white sugar. Instead of white flour, I use half whole wheat cake flour for added nutrients and half oat bran for added fiber. I also like the texture I get from using the oat bran. Instead of white sugar, I use half brown sugar and half Splenda, just to try to keep the calories down. Using Splenda, a slice of this (1/8 loaf) is about 321 calories. -Wild Flora

Ingredients

8 large eggs 2 cups "light" flavored olive oil 1 1/3 cup water 4 cups pureed pumpkin (fresh or canned) 6 cups packed brown sugar or 3 cups packed brown sugar and 3 cups Splenda 3 1/3 cups whole wheat cake flour 3 1/3 cups oat bran 3 teaspoons salt At least 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg. Increase this and the other spices if you like a very spicy bread. At least 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon. At least 2 teaspoons ground cloves. 4 teaspoons baking soda 1 cup golden raisins (optional) 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350?F. Grease 4 loaf pans with cooking spray. 2. In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the olive oil, water, pumpkin pur?e, sugar, and Splenda if using and whisk to combine thoroughly. 3. Put flour and oat bran in another large bowl. Add salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and baking soda. When adding baking soda, make sure you rub it between your fingers to get rid of any lumps. Stir well or sift to make sure there are no lumps. 4. Combine wet and dry ingredients in one bowl. Stir in raisins and nuts. 4. Pour into loaf pans. Bake an hour and then check it with a clean knife. When you can put the knife into the center of the bread and then pull it out again with no batter adhering to the knife, it's cooked all the way through. This bread may need another 45 minutes to cook all the way through, but check frequently. If you notice that the outside edges are overcooking while the center is still uncooked, lower the oven temperature to 325. 5. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes then run a knife around the edge of the loaf before removing from pan. Note: This recipe is an adaptation of an adaptation of one that originally came from the family of Vivian Hasbrouk Wilson.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR, Wild Flora

Almost 20 years ago, I slowly evolved out of a career in journalism and into a life as someone who works with plants, animals, and land. I spent 9 years on the West Coast designing and installing...