Perfect Pumpkin Bread

Recently I baked and pureed a large pumpkin leftover from Halloween. I searched the interwebs for the perfect pumpkin bread recipe. Far too many called for too much sugar, oil or eggs. I've made some revisions to this basic vegan recipe. The original had far too little spice for my taste, so I've increased the cinnamon and added fresh ginger. I would expect that dried ginger or even crystalized ginger would make a lovely addition. I've also added chopped almonds for a pleasing crunch. Almonds are my favorite nut, and I think they add a cleaner, fresher taste than walnuts or pecans could. The dried cranberries add a juicy tang, though if you have only traditional raisins, I think some orange or lemon zest would give it that zing. I baked the pumpkin halves cut-side down on a sheet pan for 90 minutes, pureed the pulp in the food processor, and drained over night in a cloth lined sieve to reduce the water content.

dry ingredients:
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 to 1/3 tsp ground cloves
a generous pinch of salt

wet ingredients:
2 cups cooked pumpkin puree
1/2 cup agave syrup
2 T oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp fresh ginger puree
1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a standard size loaf pan.

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another. Fold wet ingredients into the dry until thoroughly incorporated. The batter should be fairly stiff. Smooth batter into the greased loaf pan and bake immediately for 55 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a rack before cutting.