One Saturday morning I was watching one of my favorite Food Network shows, Jamie Oliver. This particular episode was completely focused on cooking and baking with butternut squash. A self-professed fan of anything with squash, I was captured by Jamie’s butternut squash muffins with vanilla bean icing.
I went to the grocery store that afternoon and purchased my first butternut squash. Preparation was laborious. Cutting through the thick skin was like trying to chop a rock in half. Ten minutes later the squash was halved and seeded. I smothered it in olive oil and roasted it as directed.
After nearly an hour in the oven, the squash felt tender enough to throw in the food processor. Of course, I don’t own a food processor but an average sized blender. I pureed the squash in three messy batches. Once that process was finished, I had to actually mix the batter and go through the whole baking and cooling process before I could finally taste the muffins.
Though the muffins were absolutely amazing, I did not plan on making them again any time soon.
So when I was wondering the baking aisle at Whole Foods and came across canned butternut squash, I felt like I hit a gold mine. Baking with butternut squash seemed possible again and I became excited about the possibilities.
This afternoon I decided to put the butternut squash to work in a simple loaf bread. I know I make a lot of them, but quick breads are just so simple and satisfying.
The following is an adaptation of a pumpkin recipe my friend gave me. Substituting different ingredients gives it a fresh, new flavor.
Cream 1 c brown sugar and 1/3 c softened butter. Add in two eggs, 1 c canned butternut squash and 1/3 c water. In a separate bowl mix together 3/4 c all-purpose flour, 3/4 c spelt flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg then add a pinch of ground cloves.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Pour into a buttered loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.
