"Pumpkin Beer" Pumpkin Bread

Fall very, very quickly encroached upon this part of the world.  In a blink of an eye September...and soon now October... is over.  I'm well behind in posting here.  And for a brief while, we were also running behind on home brewing. But Life seems to have found a balance again...

Last year we brewed a pumpkin ale via an extract kit.  The recipe provided alternative directions for brewing the beer with added mashed pumpkin.  Still feeling like novices, Ross and I opted for the simpler route.

This year we upped the ante.  Two extract kits were purchased.  One we brewed as is.  The second batch had the additions of mashed pumpkin and 3 more pounds of grain (that's quite a bit to steep in our 5 gallon pot!)

So far both worts appear much the same.  The taste comparison in six weeks should be interesting.

After the wort was strained I was left with well over three cups of mashed pumpkin infused with barley notes from the boil.  Rather than see that all go to waste, I'm made quick work of it...turning the pulp into two loaves of pumpkin bread.

The title is perhaps a wee bit misleading, as no actual beer was used in the making of this recipe.  But, waste not, want not.  Perhaps the next batch of pumpkin bread will enjoy a little leavening from our very own pumpkin brew.

Any pumpkin puree would do in the recipe.

adapted from Elise's recipe at Simply Recipes

yields two loaves

The Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1/2 cup water
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tsp baksing soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
2 cups pumpkin puree

The Process:
Preheat the oven to 350.  Throughly grease two 9x5x3 loaf pans and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and whisk by hand until well incorporated.  (do not worry about over mixing if you are doing this by hand...it is a lot harder to do than you'd think!)

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in to the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Remove from oven and allow to cool at least thirty minutes before slicing.