Sugar-free Pumpkin Bread

This quick bread is inspired by all the unhealthy pumpkin bread recipes I saw online and in recipe books. Almost all recipes I found for pumpkin bread uses approximately ONE CUP OF SUGAR for EVERY CUP OF FLOUR. That is way too much sugar for anyone to consume in bread. I came up with this sweet pumpkin bread that only requires 1/3 cup of honey for every cup of wholesome whole wheat flour. This bread can be enjoyed all year round since it is not heavy in spices. Just freeze it to store,  and when you are ready to enjoy it, pop it in toaster-over or oven.

If you are not accustomed to the nutty flavor of whole wheat flour, swap half of the flour for unbleached organic all purpose flour.

Taste: This pumpkin bread is sweet from the use of only a third cup of honey for two small loves. The smell of cinnamon goes well with the plump and juicy raisins and crunchy walnuts.

Texture: This bread is very tender and moist. It has good structure and will not fall apart when handling upon cooling.

Ingredients to make 2 small loaves (approx: 5 ½" x 3" x 2 ¼")
½ cup (70 grams) Whole Wheat Flour*
½ cup (80 grams) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour*
½ teaspoon Baking Soda
⅛ teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 cup (225 grams) Pumpkin (pureed or can)
⅓ Oil*
½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
⅓ cup Honey
⅔ Soaked Raisins (Soaked for at least an hour)
½ cup Chopped Walnuts
½ cup Chocolate Chips (optional, bread will not be sugar free if this is used)

Flour*: If you don't have pastry flour, you can use 1 cup of Whole Wheat Flour. Using regular whole wheat flour will give you a hardier bread with a more nutty flavor. If you use flour made with White Wheat, it will be softer and less nutty in flavor. You can find 100% Whole White Wheat flour at Trader Joe's, Wegmans, Walmart and even Target.

Oil*: Use any type of vegetable oil. I used Trader Joe's pressed sunflower oil. Don't use olive oil, your bread will have a strong olive flavor that will not taste good with the other flavors in the bread.

Method
1. Line bottom of loaf pans with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. With a whisk, mix dry ingredients together in a clean bowl (whole wheat pastry flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon). Set Aside.

3. In a separate bowl, mix pumpkin, oil, egg, honey, vanilla extract together with a whisk or hand held blender until ingredients are blended together.

4. Combine flour mixture with wet mixture. Using a spoon or hand held blender, mix ingredients until just combined to avoid over-mixing. Over-mixing will create a tough loaf. I used a spoon and fold the mixtures together.

5. Add raisins (drained), walnuts, and chocolate chips into the batter. Mix for a few seconds to distribute the goodies. Then pour into the loaf pans and bake for 40-45 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness by inserting it in the loaf and pulling it out. If batter clings to the toothpick, it is not ready. Bake for another 5 minutes and check again.

6. Cool bread completely before slicing. Once baked, remove the bread from pan and cool on a cooling rack. Use a knife to separate sides of the bread with the pan. Don't worry about the bottom since it is lined with parchment paper. Leave the parchment paper on the bread when it is cooling.