Tea Breads
In my mother’s Betty Crocker cookbook (written in the 1950s) they were generally categorized as Quick Breads and then further categorized as Tea Breads. I still have that cookbook. You can buy a First Edition online for $147. Mine is not a first edition but it’s special to me and I have saved it for decades.
I was raised on banana nut bread. There were always what I called “dead bananas” in the fruit bowl. My mom or I would whip up a batch of banana bread and in just over an hour we’d have a loaf that could feed all seven kids a nice slice as a treat or as a quick breakfast. We’d spread cold butter on top and let out yelps as we dug in.
When I was older and on my own, that banana bread fed me on more occasions than I care to admit...
Pumpkin or Sweet Potato Bread
Everyone loves pumpkin, right? Well, how about a tea bread that’s made with pumpkin? Sort of like banana bread. Or even make it with sweet potato puree. I am finding that now that I live in the South, I can buy sweet potato puree in the grocery store (Right next to the pumpkin puree). Or here’s an idea… when you do a holiday dinner, roast up a few extra sweet potatoes and puree them. You’ll need a scant two cups of puree to make this bread. Sweet potatoes aren’t just for casseroles anymore. They can also feed your guests at breakfast or brunch.
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter, melted (1/2 cup). Just melt it in the bowl in the microwave and proceed.
1/2 cup of coconut oil, melted. You can buy a version now that is not solid. It’s already in the bottle, liquified.
1 1/2 cups of sugar substitute. I use ZSweet or Swerve. You can find them in some stores now or order online.
2 large eggs
1 15 oz can of pumpkin or sweet potato puree (Or two cups of puree if you roast your own)
1 cup of regular white flour
1 1/2 cups of finely ground almond flour. Bob’s Mill makes a great version. Be sure to get a fine grind.
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder. Be sure it’s fresh. It loses oomph after six months.
1 tsp of grated sea salt
1/2 tsp of baking soda
2 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. This is the mixture all ready to use. Find it in the spice aisle which saves you buying all the individual ingredients.
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Spray and line two regular-sized bread pans. You can use olive oil spray or coconut oil spray. Line them with a sheet of parchment paper cut to size. I find I can use one piece of parchment paper the width of the pan and cut that into two pieces to line both pans.
I make this recipe in one bowl. When you do that make sure you spread your dry ingredients on top. Don’t just dump them in. You want them to be equally mixed throughout the batter. This is my lazy way of doing it, but it makes fewer dishes to clean and I get it in the oven even faster.
Put the melted butter, coconut oil, sugar substitute, two large eggs, and the pumpkin (or sweet potato) puree in a large bowl. Mix with your mixer until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides and mix one more time. Then add all the dry ingredients. As noted above, make sure the flours and the baking powder/soda get well spread out as well as the spice mixture. You can also mix all the dry ingredients in their own bowl and then incorporate them with the ‘wet’ ingredients. Use your mixer again to get it all mixed and distributed. Scrape down the sides one more time, mix a bit more and you are ready to go.
Pour the batter into the two prepared pans. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly into all the corners.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 50 minutes. Check with a toothpick. If the pick comes out clean it’s done. Don’t expect it to rise much. It won’t. Let sit in the pan for at least 30 minutes before you try to turn it out. It will be moist and you don’t want it to fall apart. Then let cool and wrap to preserve. Each loaf should give you at least six slices depending on how thick you slice them.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola
