The gluten curse is broken!

Last winter I started getting homesick for Germany, and I found myself missing Brötchen in particular. I decided to try baking some myself, and, well, let's just say things didn't go very well.

The first batch refused to rise at all and came out of the oven as pale as they went in. If you threw one of these at somebody, you could do some serious damage:



Not to be deterred, I made a second batch. These rose and rose and rose and then fizzled. They came out of the oven small yet surprisingly edible:



We decided that if Brötchen is merely the German diminutive of Brot (bread), then what I had created were actually Brötchenchen (really small Brötchen). There you go, Germany--no need to thank me for the new word.

A few months later I tried my hand at Indian naan bread. I must have used a recipe for non-bread, however, because this . . . substance . . . was not any sort of bread at all.

Last night, however, I got inspired to try making my mother-in-law's pumpkin bread, which is one of Annabelle's favorite foods. (Well, actually, I got inspired on Saturday but realized I didn't have 3 loaf pans. I bought those on Sunday and started measuring ingredients, only to realize that I didn't have enough sugar. Bought sugar yesterday and tried again. I am nothing if not tenacious.)

I am pleased to report that it worked! Annabelle declared it to be as good as "the real thing," although I think next time I will cut the cooking time a bit. My new non-stick loaf pans tended to scorch the bottoms.

Care to join us in some pumpkin bread?

Mimmy Taylor's Pumpkin Bread

4 cups plain flour
3 cups sugar
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinammon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1.5 tsp salt
1 cup nuts (optional--I didn't put in nuts)

Sift dry ingredients together in large bowl. Make a well and pour in:

1 cup vegetable oil
1 lb or 2 cups pumpkin
1 cup cold water

Mix well. Add 4 eggs, one at a time. Bake one hour at 350 degrees in 3 loaf pans.