Let us Give Thanks (And a secret ingredient is revealed!)

Taking a step away from my education blog, Curriculum Connections, to share some ideas from my personal life.  We are coming up on Thanksgiving--one of my favorite holidays.  Family, food, happy memories, and a reminder to live life with a sense of gratitude for all that we have.

I have been baking pumpkin bread for Thanksgiving for years.  A history of the recipe and the secret ingredient found later in this blog post.

My new purchase from a few months ago: this pan from Williams-Sonoma.

Doing a test run today to see what I need to do to get it to look like the picture in the store.

In reading the reviews online, the key tips seem to be greasing the pan (split opinions on cooking spray, butter, or oil), letting the bread cool for 10-15 minutes before releasing from the pan, and hitting the pan on the counter a few times before putting in the oven to get rid of any air bubbles.

So I used cooking spray, hit the pan on the counter, and let sit for 15 minutes before I released from the pan.  Here is what I learned from this test run: I think I filled the pan a little too full.  Next week I will add less batter to the pan.  I used regular cooking spray, but I think I will try to pick up some cooking spray with flour.  I also think I can shorten the baking time by 1-2 minutes.  There were some air bubbles, so I will be a little firmer with hitting on the counter next time, but all in all, I was happy with how it came out of the pan.

Yield: 1 large loaf pan and 3 mini-loaves. 

And now, the story of the recipe....   My dad passed away when I was 4. (And I have been doubly blessed as my mom remarried and I still have the most wonderful dad).  Later, in my teens, I came across a red recipe book from a Spencer radio station where my dad had worked in 1958.  It was one of those mimeographed books with purple ink.  In this book I found the following recipe for pumpkin bread:

Dry ingredients
3 1/2 c. flour
3 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves

Wet ingredients
1 c. oil
4 eggs
2/3 c. water
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1/2 tsp. black walnut flavoring 

Don't leave out the last ingredient--that's the secret one!  I left it out once and realized this was what was giving the bread a rich, nutty taste.  My kids do not like nuts in the bread, so this is a good way to get the taste without the texture.

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Mix other ingredients on medium with a mixer in a large bowl.  Add dry ingredients 1/3 at a time and mix well. (This was especially fun today as I got to use my early Christmas present--a Kitchen Aid mixer!)  Pour into greased loaf pans.  Bake at 350 for about 1 hour (depending on the size of the loaf pans).

I have made this bread every year since then--I make bread to have at Thanksgiving and some to share with others.  To me, this keeps the spirit of why we celebrate this holiday alive.

I will close this post with a quote from my hometown priest from Thanksgiving Mass last year:

"Hate cannot live in a heart that is filled with peace, love, and thanksgiving." 

--Fr. Walter Brunkan

Let us give thanks.