Oct 31, 2011

Red Racer Pumpkin Ale Bread

2011 might well be the year of the pumpkin ale. In 2010, everyone seemed to jump aboard the winter ale train, but this year, it felt like every brewer and his dog released a pumpkin beer of some kind. This is great news for pumpkin ale fanatics like me, who wait all year for the spicy, gourd-flavoured brew to hit store shelves. Now, instead of a couple of options, we've got a veritable buffet of orange cans and bottles to salivate over.

One of my favourite local pumpkin offerings comes from Surrey's Central City Brewing. Their Red Racer Pumpkin Ale is creamy and delicious, with subtle hints of cinnamon and cloves (pumpkin pie!), and without the overwhelming sweetness of some other pumpkin ales. Nice and balanced, I thought it would be a perfect choice for my first attempt at pumpkin beer bread. (yes, this is my second beer bread post this month. I think it might be becoming a thing.)



Red Racer Pumpkin Ale Bread
(adapted from this recipe)

3 cups whole wheat flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2/3 cup pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
1 can Red Racer Pumpkin Ale
Earth Balance (or regular margarine) for greasing

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease your loaf pan
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and pumpkin pie spice
3. Add in vegetable oil, pumpkin puree and beer (like so - mmm, look at that nice head)


4. Mix just until flour streaks are no longer visible, then smooth the dough into the greased loaf pan
5. Bake for 55-60 mins, until fork inserted into the middle comes out clean
6. Remove from pan, let cool on a rack before serving. Or, devour it immediately and burn your mouth (I took that route)


This bread is so.freaking.good - I ate two pieces while I wrote this. Plus it makes your house smell like heaven. Simple to make, and pretty much like a healthier, more savory version of a pumpkin pie. Oh, and there's beer in it. Win-win-win! Note that pumpkin beer stocks are running low everywhere, so I'd suggest if you want to try it, you get on it ASAP. Cheers!

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