Don’t shoot, I’ll confess! It’s all my fault, I swear!
Tempting? Why, yes. I did happen to use an amazing recipe by the Post Punk Kitchen, which would explain the fantastic flavor and concept. Unfortunately, when relatively little sleep is combined into the mix and I happen to be baking… bad things happen.
If you go to the actual recipe I linked above, you may notice that it in fact is meant to create pumpkin muffins, whereas I have attempted a bread. Oh sure, both are great in their own way, I love muffins and have nothing against them, it’s just that my mother specifically requested a loaf of pumpkin bread. No problem! Won’t it be just fine if I pour it all into one big pan like a moron and not bother to change the oven temperature?? I’ll just bake it for longer!!
[If you yourself ever begin to have thoughts that are similar to these, I suggest you call some sort of hotline for the criminally insane, immediately. Especially if you have spent as much time in the kitchen as I have these past few months.]
After a good 45 minutes, the house had filled with the delicious smells of pumpkin and spices, and the outsides of the loaf were becoming a luminous golden orange… But a gentle prodding revealed… Pudding?! All I had to do was attempt to move the pan and it jiggled Not good. Okay, don’t panic, just keep it baking!
It eventually occurred to me that I was absolutely nuking this poor thing – 400 degrees? No way it’ll ever cook through! So I turned off the oven and left it in to soak up the diminishing heat… As you can see, the edges got a little bit crispy. Later, much to my dismay and with my mother looking on, I cut the first piece with a flourish… To find a sad streak staring at me along the bottom of the bread. I guess it would have to be expected… although it was mostly cooked through!
Wait, don’t run off yet! By all means, you must make these muffins!
Just look at that! It’s not the bad guy here, I am. By all means, I want to clear this poor little pumpkin bread’s name – he was simply never meant to be a loaf. The flavor is beyond compare, and had it been given the appropriate confinement in which to rise, it morphs into a fluffy, heavenly breakfast or snack. Moist, but still with a very delicate crumb, trust me on this one; the Post Punk Kitchen knows their baked goods.
But whatever you do… Put away those loaf pans, or you’ll be hearing from me…
