Maple Pecan Pumpkin Streusel Bread

I love fall, I can turn on the oven without making the house unbearable!  We are having a lovely Indian summer though and I think we set a record for the driest August in Seattle in while.  For the first time since at least 1891, the city of Seattle was bone-dry for the whole month of August.  And except for a 14 minute shower on September 10th that just barely measured 0.01" at Seatac (enough to stop us breaking the dry streak record), there has been no rain since July 22nd.  (In our neighborhood, that shower consisted of a number of splats I could count on two hands.)  Maybe if we all go out and wash our cars this weekend...  Anyway, I am starting to see pumpkin posts and people are anticipating all the pumpkin lattes and goodies at the coffee shops.  So I decided to thaw out some pumpkin puree I had collected from last year's pie pumpkins and try out a yummy looking quick bread.  I am sure you can use canned pumpkin for this and I did cook some of the moisture out of my puree to make it closer to canned consistency.  I used whole spelt for this batch and it is wonderful the next day; moist and mild.  If using a light spelt or a refined flour along with homemade pumpkin puree, you'll probably end up with a beautiful orange tinted loaf.  I'm tempted to turn this into muffins on the next batch...

Maple Pecan Pumpkin Streusel Bread

makes 1 loaf

1½ cups whole spelt flour

½ tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 cup pumpkin puree

½ cup light brown muscovado sugar

¼ cup maple syrup

1 egg

1/3 cup neutral flavor coconut oil, melted

Streusel topping:

3 tbsp flour

2 tbsp light brown muscovado sugar

¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice

¼ cup butter, chilled

¼ cup pecans, chopped

Butter a loaf pan, 8 or 9" will both work, I used an 8".  This is a delicate loaf, so I might be helpful to line the pan with parchment to facilitate the removal of the loaf without cracking it.  

Preheat the oven to 370º.  

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, muscovado sugar, maple syrup, egg and oil.  Add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

To make the streusel topping, combine the flour, sugar and spice.  Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until there are coarse chunks about the size of peas.  Toss with the pecans.  Sprinkle the topping over the batter.  (My butter warmed up and so I ended up with a more cohesive mixture which I spread in pieces over the batter.)

Bake for 40-50 minutes until the center is set and a wooden skewer comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack.  Let it cool completely before trying to cut into it.  It will have even better flavor the next day, especially when using a whole grain flour.  
Enjoy!

Adapted from Believing Boldly