Spiced Apple Pumpkin Bread (vegan)

Oops I did it again. 

I played with your heart....got lost in the game...

Jk, Jk. But I did make bread again. Remember last week on Instagram and in my blog post when I told you I made my homemade banana bread? Well I did it again. I made more bread. I just couldn't help myself!

I honestly don't really even like baking. It's too much measuring, too many ingredients, too much everything. Don't get me wrong, I love baking cookies around Christmas time...and sometimes on a random Tuesday (not going to lie), but those random Tuesdays are few and far between. I'm more of a chop, season, roast-in-the-oven type of girl. 

But here I am, sitting at my dining room table on Sunday night to write this post, and I've made 2 different loaves of quick bread within 3 days. FOR FUN. I don't even know who I am anymore. But here is what I do know: 

1. This bread is incredibly easy to make. 

2. Maple syrup and fresh apple are the only sweeteners (woohoo!). 

3. It takes about 5-10 minutes to prep before baking (major win). 

4. It combines 2 things I love about fall: apple + pumpkin. 

4. Scott and I can't stop eating it. 

Just look at that glorious loaf! It is everything you want in a homemade bread. It has a soft, moist center and a wonderful outer crumb. And it's filled with so many good ingredients. In my banana bread recipe I used brown sugar and coconut sugar, but for this recipe I wanted to use something different. I wanted to sweeten it a bit more naturally. I knew I wanted to make a pumpkin bread and as I was jotting down ingredient notes I thought about a few different things. First I thought banana (I guess I have bananas on the brain since I just made the banana bread). Bananas are a great way to naturally sweeten many things, but it's tough to hide the banana flavor in the finished product. I didn't want banana pumpkin bread (although...it actually sounds good...maybe next time?). NextI thought about using dates. I use dates allllll the time to sweeten a variety of things (smoothies, oatmeal, other baked goods), but I didn't have enough on hand. Then I thought about apples. MMMM! A crisp, sweet apple could work nicely in this recipe, but I didn't want apple chunks in my bread. Hmmmm....

*cue locking eyes with my Vitamix blender sitting on the counter*

I'll just blend all the wet ingredients, duh! I've actually never done that before. Do people do that? Am I behind the times on this? Well whatever the case, it worked out beautifully. No apple chunks - just smooth, wonderfully blended ingredients that poured out like silk. 

The result was a delicious loaf that tastes like pumpkin apple spice and everything nice! It's a hearty loaf (thanks to the whole wheat flour, oats, and flaxseed) that somehow feels still feels really light (THANK YOU apple and pumpkin!!). 

I have a feeling this loaf will be making many more appearances this season, which is A-OK with me :)

Spiced Apple Pumpkin Bread (V)

|1 loaf = 10-12 slices|

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (whole wheat pastry or spelt flour would also work)
  • 1/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger spice
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 1/2 large apple cored (I used Honeycrisp)
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp ground flaxseed

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare 8 x 4 loaf pan with olive oil, coconut oil, or parchment paper. 
  2. Add all dry ingredients (except flaxseed) to a large bowl and stir until well combined. 
  3. Add all wet ingredients (including flaxseed) to a blender and blend until smooth and well combined (be sure apple is fully blended). 
  4. Pour wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until just combined. Be careful not to over stir, as batter can become tough. 
  5. Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
  6. Allow bread to cool in the loaf pan for about 20-25 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Allow the bread to cool for another 10-15 minutes before slicing (this helps keep the bread intact while cutting). 
  7. Enjoy!

xoxo, 

Lauren

Breakfast, Dessertlauren blakevegan, pumpkin bread, apple bread, spiced apple pumpkin bread, vegan bread, vegan quick bread, quick bread, no added sugar, fall foods, healthy dessert, healthy bread, easy vegan bread1 Comment