The official first day of fall is almost here and I am ready for all the fall recipes to go down in my kitchen. Pumpkin bread always seems like a good place to start when it comes to fall baking and I realized that I had never shared my go-to recipe that is healthy and delicious. (That obviously has to change right?) Pumpkin bread is one of those things that I look forward to every year and there is nothing better than the smell of warm spices baking in your oven! Aside from the perks of having your house smell like your favorite fall candle, but way better, I also like making my own pumpkin bread at home because I get to make a healthier version of my favorite fall bread. My healthy spiced pumpkin bread is a must make this season and you will love how simple the recipe is too!
Yesterday was one of those days in motherhood where you question your sanity. Maybe you find yourself hiding in a closet for ten minutes so you can have a moment to breathe alone, or maybe you raised your voice and have a bit of mom guilt because of it. Maybe you aren’t a mom, but you had one of those days too where you just couldn’t wait for bedtime so you could wake up to a fresh new day. Either way, I feel you. Whenever I have a day like this, baking is something that brings me happiness in the midst of whatever chaos is going on. There is something so therapeutic about measuring and whisking and then smelling warm sweet goodness enveloping your home like a great big hug. I find that when I involve my son in the baking it instantly changes his mood too, it’s the ultimate distraction with the end result being so delicious. (Win-Win) My whole wheat zucchini tahini bread is our new favorite treat to make whether or not we are having a rough day and you are going to love it too!
This bread has me daydreaming of being somewhere in Europe drinking fine wines and eating delicious breads and cheeses like its my job. Of course I've actually never been to Europe (yet), but when I take a bite of this fluffy, airy, crusty top bread, I am transported to a little café on a cobblestone street sitting outside watching beautiful people walk by. This no-knead artisan loaf is that good.
The first time I tried this bread, I thought there was absolutely no way it was going to come out good because there was little prep work, only four ingredients, and I just couldn't grasp how it was going to turn out. Well let me tell ya....it turned out really good.
So good that instead of being this fabulous European woman, the realistic version of me was in workout clothes tearing off a piece of the bread right out of the oven and slathering butter on it standing right there in my kitchen, barefoot, with the dogs staring at me. I think they were judging me.
I have made it a couple times now, and every time it comes out perfect. There are little to no skills required to make this bread, so you have to try it for yourself!
The smell of baking bread throughout the house is something that I will never tire of. It is comfort, it is home, it is mouth watering, and I have decided, completely worth the effort to make. There is something so rewarding about eating bread that your hands and your hands alone made.
I am no bread making master yet, but I did figure out this whole wheat recipe that is a great basic recipe and isn't too hard to make. I have big bread making dreams now that I have a little more understanding of how this homemade bread thing works. I'm hooked.
I told you last week this was either going to be a problem or the best thing I've done in the kitchen in a long time...well it's kind of both. I have this irresistible urge to slather honey butter on the first slice right out of the oven...so usually I do, which I guess could be considered a problem. But what's a girl to do when it's warm and calling for a honey butter bath?
I've admitted to you before that I am not a baker. And when I say that, I don't mean that I can't bake or don't enjoy it....because believe me I get hit by the baking bug every so often and I'm not half bad. But with baking it's the whole everything has to be measured perfectly and if I mess up there is no way to fix it thing that I don't like. It's way too much pressure for my liking, mostly because with cooking I am a perfectionist and with baking there is a fear of it not coming out just as the recipe says.
However, there is a but here. I do love homemade pizza crusts, and I am determined to start making homemade bread of all varieties. The main reason for this is that I want to know what ingredients are in my bread, it's all very rustic and quite therapeutic.
There is something about the kneading that I really like. I feel like I am channeling all of the great women who made bread with no fancy equipment, but just with love to feed their families. They did it out of necessity, but really they had it right all along. That is what I'm going for, I'm putting my baking fears aside, my fears of not having something come out perfect and I'm going to teach myself to bake bread.
