The Goddess loves this time of year, when the frost is on the pumpkin, the leaves are a riot of color and there’s just a slight chill in the air.  It’s soup weather.  It’s stew and chili weather.  And it’s time to make pumpkin bread!  My dear friend, The Orchid Mother, reminded me that I should be making pumpkin bread.  It is that time of year, isn’t it?  She’s very cutting edge.  So, not to disappoint her, I got out my mother’s old recipe and whipped up a loaf and it’s in the oven, as I write.  This makes a huge loaf or, as I did here, a very large loaf and two smaller “muffins”.  I used a couple of 6 ounce, well-oiled soufflé dishes, but you could use a muffin tin, too.  What I usually do, is to make two smaller loaves, 8 X 4-inch pans.  This is a cinch to make—

we mix the liquid ingredients together with a whisk.

Then we combine the dry ingredient, add the dried fruit(s) and zest, stir them together, then dump the dry into the wet, and fold/stir the ingredients together just until they’re mixed.  Quick breads suffer from over-mixing.  It develops the gluten and makes a “tough” end product.  Gluten is great for a loaf of yeast raised bread, but not for a cake-type quick bread.  After mixing, you pour the whole mess into whatever choices of pans you choose, into a preheated oven and bake.  Remember that smaller loaf pans, or muffin-sized containers, will take less time than larger.  And if you use two different sizes of pans, then you’ll have to bake for different times (I baked the smaller dishes for 30 minutes, the larger pan for 65 minutes).  Keep in mind, your oven temperature may be different from mine, and that can affect the outcome as well.  Test with a wooden skewer; test in several places, too.  I sprinkled coarse sugar over the tops of each loaf, because I don’t plan to glaze them.  But, you should glaze, if you want.  This recipe isn’t as sweet as some versions, and I’ve always liked that.  So to that end, you can glaze it, without it becoming too sweet.  The Maple Glaze recipe appears at the end of this post.  You can also sprinkle with a streusel topping before popping the pan in the oven.  But, it’s pretty delicious just as it is, sliced, with butter or without!

If you wish to glaze the loaf(s), a Maple Glaze is nice.  Whisk together 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar (you can add 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, if you wish).  Add enough maple syrup, about 1/4 cup maple syrup (more or less) to make a thick, but still pourable icing.  Keep whisking until all the little lumps dissolve and disappear.  Whisk in 1/4 teaspoon maple extract.  You don’t have to use it, but I think it definitely boosts the maple flavor and makes a more interesting glaze.  Spread on the cooled loaf.  Let stand for at least an hour, before slicing.  The allows the glaze to set.