More bread, of course!

I tried another bread this week. This time, the oatmeal pumpkin bread from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. When I hear pumpkin and bread in the same breath, I think about a quick bread, whipped together with baking soda or powder, moist and soft, just like the banana bread we all grew up on. This, however, is not even a distant cousin of that. This oatmeal pumpkin bread is its own sophisticated self. Oh my, it is goooooooooooooood.

In the recipe, they mention roasting your own pumpkin around Thanksgiving time in order to get a really good pumpkin-y flavor. Well, it is May and I'm not seeing so many of those pumpkins at my market this time of the year. I had some leftover pumpkin puree from a can and needed to use it up, so I investigated this recipe.

It is a sophisticated loaf, as I said, with white, wheat and rye flours in addition to oats. I didn't have old fashioned oats, just quick oats, but the taste was lovely as can be. Due to the heavy flours in the dough, it does have to rise for a long time, almost two hours if I'm not mistaken. I tend to get a little impatient when waiting for Artisan Bread in 5 to rise, but I waited patiently for this one. I was not disappointed. It is hearty, dense, moist and perfect for sandwiches, toast or just a slice slathered with your favorite spread. It made me wish that I had a bowl of 13 Bean and Ham soup to dip it in.

You'll also see in the photo my other favorite these days: pumpernickel. I brought a loaf of it to a picnic recently with some sweet cream butter and a chunk of sharp cheddar. Wow. Dinner perfection. If you try the pumpernickel, remember that you can make your own caramel coloring and it lasts for a long time in the fridge. (I think mine has been in the fridge for 5 months and it still works great!)