Pumpkin Streusel Loaves

A few months ago a friend asked me to make her pumpkin streusel loaves out of a +Paula Deen magazine. The picture of the loaves looked amazing so I was very eager to start baking them for my friend. I got all of the ingredients and started to mix them up. Everything was going great and I was following the recipe to a T. I panned up the batter, put the streusel on top, then put them in the oven all ready to bake. I noticed on the recipe that it says to bake the loaves for 30 minutes.

 I used to work as a cook before and I've made pumpkin bread and banana bread a LOT and I know that most breads take an hour or more to bake, so I thought that 30 mins was a bit strange. After 30 minutes of baking, I checked the loaves. It was just what I thought, the loaves were no where near being done and the streusel sunk down in the middle of the batter. I put more time on the loaves and I baked them for 75 minutes and they still weren't done in the middle. It was like a buttery mush. The loaves never did rise either. 

Another friend of mine that is a cook suggested that maybe my baking soda was bad so I bought new baking soda. I decided to do some research on the pumpkin streusel loaves first before I tried it again. What I found out is that in every other recipe, the streusel called for 1/4c. of fat and 1/2c. of each dry ingredient, while Paula's recipe called for only 1/4c. of each dry ingredient. So I modified the streusel recipe and started making the bread again (with the new baking soda). Again the bread took an hour to bake and the streusel sunk down in the middle but not as bad. I was very disappointed and decided to try to find another recipe for bread. After looking at several other recipes, I also noticed that in the batter recipe Paula calls for 1c. of fat but in other recipes I was looking at, they only called for a 1/2c. of fat. I wish I would have taken a picture of the loaves the first time I made them.

So what I learned from +Paula Deen is that she really really loves butter. So beware of this recipe if you do try it. Below is Paula's recipe for Pumpkin Streusel Loaves.

After doing all that research, I finally found a recipe that looked good. Thanks to +Bakingdom Blog. The perfect pumpkin streusel loaves recipe.. FINALLY! Below is a loaf of bread after following the +Bakingdom recipe. It rose perfectly and tasted great. It was perfectly moist too.

Here is the recipe from +Bakingdom Blog :

Pumpkin Bread
with Cinnamon Pepita Streusel Topping
Makes 6 mini loaves, or 3 7×3-inch loaves

Ingredients

FOR THE BREAD
3 1/2 cups (445 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup (125 ml) canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
1/2 cup (127 grams) brown sugar, packed
4 eggs (or 1/4 cup ground flaxseeds combined with 3/4 cup (187 ml) water, for vegan/dairy free)
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
2/3 cup (167 ml) water

FOR THE STREUSEL (optional, this bread is still amazing without it)
1/2 cup ( 127 grams) brown sugar
1/2 cup (63 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup pepitas (or pecans, walnuts, or any other nut, chopped)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (half a stick or 56 grams) unsalted butter, melted (or margarine for vegan/dairy free*)

*when buying margarine for vegan/dairy free usage, be sure it’s actually vegan. I prefer Earth Balance

To make the bread: Preheat oven to 350 degrees (165 C). Lightly spray 6 mini or 3 7×3-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray with flour, or grease and flour each one; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves; set aside.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the oil and apple sauce. Stir in the sugars until combined, then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Stir in the pumpkin until thoroughly combined. Stir in the water. Sprinkle about half of the flour mixture over the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the remaining flour mixture, and mix just until no streaks of flour remain. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and set aside while you mix the streusel topping.

To make the streusel: In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, flour, and cinnamon together, whisking until thoroughly combined. Stir in the pepitas or nuts. Drizzle the melted butter over the mixture and stir with a spoon until you have a mixture that resembles lumpy wet sand. Do not break up the clumps too much.

Divide the streusel evenly between the pans, sprinkling it over the top of the bread batter to cover it completely.

Bake mini loaves, three at a time on a rimmed baking sheet, for 20 minutes. Rotate the pans, front to back, and bake for another 20 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If making large loaves, bake all 3 7×3-inch loaves on a rimmed baking sheet for 25 minutes. Rotate the pans, front to back, and bake for another 25 to 27 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving, preferably longer, if you can.

I hope you try bakingdom's recipe. Here is the webpage: http://www.bakingdom.com/2011/09/pumpkin-bread-streusel-topping.html  

Thank you, +Bakingdom Blog for an awesome pumpkin streusel loaves recipe!! :)