Butternut Squash Bread
Everyone makes zucchini bread, but somehow it feels so blah to bring another loaf of this admittedly delicious stuff to a potluck. Here’s a new take on the old theme, using butternut squash, which lends a golden hue and a delicate flavor to the bread. Large loaves, which can be sliced on-site, work beautifully as potluck fare. Wrapped mini loaves tied with ribbons and adorned with handwritten tags make memorable party favors. For family reunions, spell out the family name, the date, and the reunion site, such as “Wright Family Reunion, May 2009, Elderville Churchyard.” Just about any event, from wedding showers and baptisms to graduations and birthday parties, can be commemorated this way, leaving guests with a nonperishable memento that can be saved in scrapbooks long after the last scrap of bread disappears.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 2 standard-size loaves or 8 mini loaves
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease 2 standard size (9 by 5-inch) loaf pans or 8 mini (5 1/2 by 3-inch) loaf pans with butter or cooking spray.
Step 2
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, maple syrup, butternut squash, apple, eggs, and sugars. Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1/2 cup of the pecans until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the loaf pans. Sprinkle both loaves with the remaining 1/2 cup pecans.
Step 3
Bake the loaves until they are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in their center comes out clean: 1 hour for the large loaves, about 40 minutes for the mini loaves. Cool the breads for 30 minutes in their pans. Remove from the pans and cool on wire racks before serving or wrapping for storage.
variation
Step 4
Add 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries to the batter. Or to add a little sparkle, combine 1/2 cup diced candied ginger with the chopped pecans used to top the loaves; sprinkle the mixture over the loaves before baking.
do it early
Step 5
The bread can be made in advance, wrapped, and frozen for up to 1 month, or refrigerated for up to 1 week.
tip
Step 6
Grating any squash, but especially tough butternut squash, can be grating on the nerves and the knuckles. I avoid the pain by using my food processor’s grating disk. Push hunks of peeled squash through the feed tube and the grating is done in minutes. While I’m at it, I grate the apple—peeled, seeded, and quartered—right along with the squash. If you end up with too much grated squash, spoon it into a plastic bag, squeeze out the air, and freeze for future batches of bread.
