Ginger Molasses Pumpkin Bread

Yield: 2-8" loaves
Source: Food52.com

2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin puree*
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 Tbs melted butter
1/4 cup veggie oil
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup butter milk
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs turbinado sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°.  Butter and flour two 8" loaf pans (what I used) or one 9" loaf pan (what I don't own).

In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and nutmeg.

In a second bowl whisk together the egg, pumpkin, brown sugar, butter, veggie oil, molasses, and buttermilk until well combined. Stir in fresh ginger and vanilla.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined, be careful not to over mix. Pour batter into prepared pan(s).

Combine the turbinado sugar with the last tsp of cinnamon and sprinkle over to top of the batter.

Bake 30 minutes (two 8" pans), or 55 minutes in one 9" pan, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

*Ok folks, go ahead and take the time to make your own pumpkin puree. It's absolutely worth it. You will never want the junk from the can again, I don't care how much you paid for the organic stuff at Whole Foods. Alton Brown does it here, the hardest thing about the whole process is scraping the seeds and strings out before you roast. Try to make someone who will be on the eating end of this project do the work. It's called delegating.

Roast 2 sugar (or pie) pumpkins at once and you'll end up with about 4 cups of puree. Your mileage will vary of course, based on the size of your pumpkins. I freeze the puree in 1 cup portions. Sugar pumpkins start appearing in mid-to late October in Kansas City so I usually roast 4 of them to make sure I have enough pumpkin puree in the freezer to make pies for Turkey Day and Xmas.

One last note, when I made this I found the bread to be perfectly moist and just the right amount of spicy, but lacking a bit in the sweetness department. Next time I'm upping the sugar to 3/4 cup.