I was thrilled with this bread and so were my non-vegan friends! I took the little mini-loaves on a fall road trip and there well lots of mmms, music to a baker's ears. I hope you experience the same when you decide to make this!

It's relatively low-fat, and you can make it even lower fat if you like. Just, substitute more or all of the oil for apple sauce. I was lucky enough to have some fresh pumpkin lying around that I had roasted. I peeled away the skin and puréed it with an immersion blender and it was simple as ever. I even used a Jack-o-lantern, or big 'ole carving pumpkin, the ones you find in the pumpkin patches, and the results were great. The ideal pumpkin to use, though, is a medium sized sugar pumpkin. Because the Jack-o- lantern pumpkin was roasted, the flavor was able to concentrate and some of the excess water was able to evaporate. If you don't have the time or energy to roast your own pumpkin, buy a can of pumpkin purée with no additives.

I used an immersion blender several times in this recipe. If you don't have one and want to get into vegan baking, making soups, or purées, I recommend investing in this little, revolutionary kitchen gadget. A blender will do the job, but it will not yield that same, smooth consistency. It's like going on a walk with a CD Walkman or an iPod. There is no comparison! Smaller, smarter, and better.

Servings: yields 4 mini loaves

Ingredients:

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour*
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons ground flaxseed (flaxseed meal) ♥
• ½ cup water
• 1 ¾ cups sugar
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup Mott's original applesauce**
• 1 (14 oz or 392g) pumpkin purée
• ¼–½ cup walnuts or raisins (optional)

♥ Flaxseed is great for you because of omega-3s and fiber. Just make sure to keep in fridge or freezer to retain the great nutrition properties. You can buy whole flaxseeds and grind them in a coffee grinder yourself, or buy them already ground, sold as “flax meal”
*Use a blend of one cup whole wheat flour to two cups white flour for added nutrition. The taste will still be just as good. Or you can do a half and half blend.
**I used sweetened applesauce, but you can use unsweetened to cut down on sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease or spray the baking trays or muffin tins. You can also skip the spray and use muffin liners instead.
2. Whisk together the flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. Using an immersion blender or blender, blend the flaxseed and water for about 1 minute, or until it looks very smooth and same throughout. Use a small, tall cup, for best results with the immersion blender.
4. Then, add the sugar, vegetable oil, applesauce, and pumpkin puree into the water- flaxseed mixture. Blend for about 30 seconds.
5. Then add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, in three turns. Whisk lightly after each addition until all is combined thoroughly.
6. Stir in walnuts or raisins, or combination. Pour into baking trays or muffin tins.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when tested. Important: after baking, let the bread cool for 20 minutes to coalesce in the pan. This is undeniably the hardest part while the aromas of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg fill your home.

Additional information: appropriate for Vegetarian and Vegan diet.
Another thanks to my go-to Vegan bible of a cookbook, , by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. The recipe was adapted from this book.