Pumpkin Almond Bread

Decadent moist full of fall flavors and bolstered with spelt and almond flour this hearty loaf has all your fall favorite ingredients, but a tad more nutritious. Sweetened with overripe bananas and jaggery, healthy olive oil, this loaf is nutritious enough for breakfast, yet decadent for dessert. With the resurgence of pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, apples and cruciferous veggies after what seems a long summer, Im ready of some cooler weather and hearty, cozy recipes to make with them.

Spelt Flour: Made from the entire grain of wheat and functions like all purpose flour. I’ts my new favorite flour to bake with, specially cakes and banana breads. Use 1:1 substitute for a.p flour. .

Almond Flour: almond flour is low in carbs yet high in healthy fats and fiber. Use 1:1 substitute for wheat flour with he addition of binding agent like eggs.

Olive Oil: Adds a mild grassy olive flavor to the bread which is nice and rustic with pumpkin. If you prefer milder flavored oil use your regular oil or coconut oil.

Jaggery: A type of cane sugar, a popular choice of sweetener in the Indian subcontinent. It’s not as refined as white sugar with trace minerals, making it better than white sugar, however it is sugar and should be consumed as such. Like brown sugar it gives dishes a delcious caramel flavor. Use as sugar.

Pumpkin Almond Bread, about 10 slices

Ingredients

• ½ cup spelt flour, sifted or gluten free baking mix
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup pumpkin purée not pumpkin pie mix
• 2 medium sized overripe banana, mashed
• ½ cup jaggery or coconut or brown sugar
• ½ cup olive, avocado oil or coconut oil 
• 1 tablespoon orange zest, optional
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice mix
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large organic pasture raised eggs, preferably room temperature 
• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 small sliced delicata squash+ 1 tablespoon sugar, optional
• 2 tablespoons raw pepitas/pumpkin seeds
• Maple butter or syrup for serving, optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan and then line it with parchment paper. Lightly grease the parchment as well and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the spelt flour, almond flour, cinnamon, pumpkin spice mix, baking powder, sea salt. Stir with a spatula to evenly mix.
• In an upright blender, combine the pumpkin puree, jaggery or your choice of sweetener, olive or coconut oil, eggs, orange zest and vanilla. Blend on high until totally smooth and creamy. Fold in the mashed bananas.
• Pour the pureed pumpkin mixture into the large bowl with the flours + dry ingredients mixture. Use your spatula to get all of the pumpkin mixture you can out of the blender. Gently stir and fold everything together until JUST combined.
• Spoon or pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread the batter evenly. You can garnish the top with extra pumpkin seeds, delicata squash slices and about a tablespoon of sugar for the slices to caramelize.
• Bake spelt pumpkin bread for 50-55 minutes, or until a cake tester/paring knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Allow the pumpkin bread to cool thoroughly before slicing and enjoying with a little maple butter or syrup for extra sweetness..