Eggless Fatless Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread and Ode to Fall !

Why an ode to Fall? Why not ? It is my most favorite season.. crisp coolness in the air, breathtaking colors of the foliage , family pumpkin picking trips , craving some of them as jack-o-lanterns ,  apple cider...the list can go on and on but I will skip to the most pleasure inducing part of the list .. fall baking...the chill in the air gives the perfect excuse to indulge in some aromatic fall favorites like pumpkin pie and apple quick breads . The addition of the pumpkin pie spice lends such an aroma to the bakes that they become a treat for the senses. The flavors of the autumn bakes leave you spell bound and make you crave for these culinary comforts every fall.

Rummaging through old pics, I can easily spot many in which we all seem to be enjoying pumpkin bakes..Be it pancakes , scones or quick bread, Trader Joe's had it covered for us . Yes, I did not do scratch baking at that time. But the abovementioned used to do their job beautifully and baking them gave me the confidence to try baking from scratch.. Fast forward a few years and here I am sharing a recipe of eggless, fatless , whole wheat pumpkin bread with you guys . So , now you can enjoy fall's comfort food without worrying about your waist line . Sure, it has sugar in it but you can reduce it's quantity too  .

The recipe is courtesy of happyherbivore.com and the only changes I have done is use buttermilk instead of non dairy milk and cut the amount of sugar in the recipe form 1 cup to 1/2 . I was fortunate to have pumpkin pie spice in my pantry but if you guys don't have any , 1 tsp cinnamon powder and 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder should do the job perfectly . I found the batter mixture to be a bit dry but did nothing about it ..you guys are welcome to add more buttermilk for a softer consistency.

Ingredients -
1/4 cup buttermilk ( just put few drops of lemon in 1/4 cup of milk and let sit for 5-10 mins)
1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
1 cup packed brown sugar ( I used 1/2 )
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups whole wheat flour

Method -
Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees F . Grease and flour a loaf pan for the bake.

Make the butter milk by adding few drops of lemon juice to 1/4 cup milk and letting it stand for 5-10 mins.

Sift the dry ingredients in a bowl (whole wheat flour, pumpkin spice , baking soda , baking powder ) and set them aside.

In a separate bowl , cream the pumpkin puree, sugar , maple syrup and vanilla extract.
Now, add the dry ingredients slowly to the wet ingredients alternating with the buttermilk . Fold gently and take care as to not over mix.

Transfer the batter into a loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean .

Cool on a wire, rack ,  cut into slices and enjoy this  guilt free fall treat .