Use roasted sugar pie pumpkin for earthy, spicy not-too-sweet bread

The world is awash in small “sugar pie” pumpkins right now. These are round pumpkins about the size of a mini-basketball that are usually in the produce section. A person might roll by them and think they are ornamental, kind of like their mini pumpkin cousins or a decorative gourd, but they are, in fact, a delicious, deep-flavored seasonal substitute for canned pumpkin (which, by the way, isn’t always even 100% pumpkin). I used a roasted sugar pie recently to make an earthy, spicy, not-too-sweet pumpkin bread and my (rather large) family ate two warm loaves in one sitting.

One fact about these pumpkins is when you roast them, they make just about a pound of pumpkin — which is almost exactly how much comes in a can of pumpkin puree. They are also denser and sweeter than jack-o-lantern pumpkins, giving foods made with them a richer flavor. It isn’t much work to roast a sugar pie pumpkin. Just poke it with a fork and bake it for 45 minutes or so until it’s very soft and the skin is separating from the flesh. Then slice it in half, scoop out the seeds and guts and you’re left with soft meat you can just lift off the skin and use in any recipe that calls for pumpkin puree.

If I had my way, I’d jazz up my pumpkin bread loaves both with dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips and a sprinkle of pepitas, but I cook for a family that has all kinds of opinions on these ingredients, so I just make these loaves plain and I serve them with salted butter. I have included the chocolate chip and pepita measurements for those of you who don’t cook for picky people. I tend to like my loaves on the spicy side, so I add extra allspice, clove and ginger, on top of a healthy dose of cinnamon and pumpkin spice. I encourage you to taste the batter and customize the spice profile to your liking. This recipe is written to use the whole pumpkin, making two loaves, so you can give one to your neighbor or put it in the teacher’s lounge at school. You can also make this recipe with canned pumpkin.

Roasted sugar pie pumpkin bread

Makes two loaves

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 tablespoon pumpkin spice

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon clove

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup (two sticks) salted butter, soft, at room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

4 eggs

2 cups roasted fresh pumpkin, mashed, or one 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree

Optional: 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Optional: 1/4 cup pepitas, salted or unsalted

(Do ahead: If using fresh pumpkin, poke a small sugar pie pumpkin all over with a fork, place on a sheet pan and roast in the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until it’s soft cooked and the skin is separating from the meat. Remove it from the oven, slice it in half, spoon out all the seeds and stringy bits. Peel the skin off the flesh, place the meat in a bowl and mash it with a fork.)

Method: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two loaf pans with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, soda, spices and salt. In the bowl of a standing mixer at medium speed, cream together butter and sugars until well combined, but not fluffy. Add eggs and mashed pumpkin to combine. With the mixer running low, shake in the dry ingredients. Mix, scraping down the sides, until it just forms a wet batter. Don’t overmix. (If using chocolate chips, fold them in once the batter comes together. If using pepitas, sprinkle them on top of each loaf.) Divide the batter and spoon half into each of the two loaf-prepared pans. Bake 50 minutes to an hour, until the tops spring back and a knife inserted into the loaves comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

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