How to make Squash Harvest Bread

Have you ever gone into your favorite cafe and seen squash harvest bread on the menu? It seems to be a staple on the cafe menus here in the Pacific Northwest. This is my take on squash harvest bread and I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I do. This is a large recipe – it makes two full size loaves of bread (or one full size, two minis + ten muffins!) so feel free to cut this recipe in half if you won’t be sharing it with family, friends, or neighbors.

Ingredients:

• 20 oz. cubed butternut squash (3 cups), this makes 1 1/2 cups of puree
• 6 tablespoons of water
• 1/3 cup of crushed pecans
• 1/3 cup of crushed walnuts
• 1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds, typically light green in color) + additional for sprinkling on top
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 1/2 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Step One: Roast your butternut squash at 350 degrees for 45 minutes in a 9 x 13 pan. Let cool. Put the squash and 6 tablespoons of water in a big glass bowl. Using an immersion blender puree the butternut squash until smooth. Set aside. This makes the 1 1/2 cups of puree you will use in the recipe.

Step Two: Set the oven to 325 degrees. Line a small toaster pan with aluminum foil and put the crushed pecans, crushed walnuts, and 1/3 cup of the pepitas on it. Toast for ~ 3 minutes. Let cool.

Step Three: Put the canola oil, sugar, and brown sugar in a Kitchen Aid bowl and mix well until fully combined.

Step Four: Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt to the Kitchen Aid. Start the mixer, then add 1 egg at a time until you have used all 4 eggs.

Step Five: Add in your cooled nut mixture to the batter. Mix well.

Step Six: Add in the 1 1/2 cup of butternut squash puree and buttermilk. Mix well.

Step Seven: Spray your bread pans with non-stick spray and distribute the batter evenly between them. Sprinkle additional pepitas on top if desired. Note: As I mentioned above this is a large batch recipe – this will make two large loaves or 1 large loaf + 2 mini loaves + 10 muffins. Or you can make ~48 muffins.

Step Eight: If making two large loaves bake for ~ 1 hour. A mini loaf bakes for ~ 40 minutes and the muffins take ~ 25 minutes.

Step Nine: Enjoy!