Savory Pumpkin Beer Bread

It’s pumpkin season y’all!…. Bring out the scarves and knee-high boots even if it’s still 90+ degrees outside. Just kidding, I’m not that basic. Today’s recipe is pretty special for a couple reasons. When Ryann and I first tasted Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin we instantly loved the taste. Many pumpkin beers can be too sweet and cloying with cinnamon and other pumpkin pie spices but this one is deliciously warm and a little spicy. When he challenged me to use this beer in a beer bread recipe, of course I thought about putting this in a pumpkin bread recipe but he challenged me further by saying it should be a savory bread.

The other reason this recipe is special is because I truly came up with it on my own. I didn’t take it from another place and made modifications but I took flavors that usually work with pumpkin and combine them. I even bought extra ingredients because I didn’t know if it was going to work out so I needed some safety net in case I need to tweak the recipe. I was still a little nervous when the bread came out of the oven but all doubts went out the door on that first bite. This. Is. Delicious. Ryann says it tastes like Thanksgiving and the heartiness of this bread will also pair well with stews. Perfect for hot weather like what we’ve been having right?… *sweats profusely* Well, keep this recipe in your back pocket anyway and bring it out in a month of two.

Ingredients:

1 stick of unsalted butter, divided
0.25 cup sage leaves, cut into thin strips
1 large shallot, finely chopped (about 0.25 cup)
1 cup pumpkin puree (make sure it’s just puree, do not substitute with pumpkin pie filling)
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons of baking powder
2 cups (4 oz.) Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 12 oz. can Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin

Directions:

Heat up 1 tablespoon of butter on a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter starts foaming, put in the sage leaves and let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Take out the sage, leaving the butter in the skillet, and drain on a plate lined with paper towel.
Leave the skillet on medium-high heat and add another tablespoon of butter. Once the additional butter is melted, put in the shallots and cook for about 1-2 minutes until it turns slightly translucent. Pour in the pumpkin puree and then season with some salt and pepper. Continue to cook for about 12-15 minutes until the puree is reduced to about 0.75 cup or so. The point here is really to reduce some water content of the puree so your bread won’t be soggy. After the pumpkin puree is cooked down, take off the heat and set aside to cool down a bit.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Put the remaining butter in a small sauce pan and bring up to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and let it cook a little more until it starts smelling nutty and toasty. Once you do, immediately take off the heat because it will cook a little bit more. Set aside.
Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and shredded Gruyere cheese in a large mixing bowl. Add in the pumpkin puree, sage leaves, and the Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin, and stir to to combine all ingredients together. Make sure there are no lumps of flour but do not over mix.
Take a 9×13 inch loaf pan and take 1-2 tablespoons of the melted brown butter to coat the inside of the pan. Pour in the batter but do not smooth out the top. Pour out the remaining melted brown butter over the top of the butter. This is why you shouldn’t smooth out the top – the rugged craggly batter will make nice little pools of butter that will help brown your bread nicely.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean-ish. You may not get a completely clean toothpick because of the cheese in the batter but don’t bake the bread longer than 50 minutes to avoid drying out.
Cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Take out of the pan and continue to cool on a cooling rack for another 10-15 minutes before cutting into it. This bread is very good when it’s warm, slathered with some more butter. After it cools, you can re-warm in a toaster oven before enjoying.