Browned Butter-Butternut Squash Bread

This months Daring Baker challenge, which was hosted by Lisa (Daring Kitchen Co-Founder & Owner/Holder of Super Kitchen Powers ), was fun and quick… and by quick I mean quick breads! 

Bread that is quick to make because it doesn’t require kneading or rising time. That’s because the leavener in such bread is usually baking powder or baking soda, which, when combined with moisture, starts the rising process immediately. In the case of double-acting baking powder, oven heat causes a second burst of rising power. Eggs can also be used to leaven quick breads. This genre includes most biscuits, muffins, popovers,  and a wide variety of sweet and savory loaf breads.

We all have our favorite banana bread, and Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without some pumpkin bread and of course, cranberry walnut bread. They can be made with buttermilk, yogurt, cream cheese, oil, or sour cream for moistness (or beer). Nuts, no nuts, fresh fruit, dried fruit, or chocolate; or how about bacon, chives, cheese, jalapeno pepper or sun dried tomatoes? Anything goes when it comes to quick bread.Really, your imagination is your cookbook here, well, that and a basic recipe to start.  For this challenge, Lis asked that we only try muffins or loafs. I make quick breads/muffins quite often since they are an easy snack for school and freeze well so I was happy about this challenge. Whole wheat banana bread was one of the first things I baked, but it was eaten before I remembered to take any photos. Typical. I also have a bag of meyer lemons on hand that I want to use for a lemon loaf. Soon. What I did have on hand, and used, was a butternut squash. You can never get too many vegetables into your diet and this is one squash that loves sweet as well as savory. In the middle of the bread? a swirl of cinnamon paste . Mmmmm… so moist, so good. Bake on!

* two things to do before you get started

1. Cut your butternut squash in half and place, cut side down, on an oiled baking sheet and roast at 400F until soft (about 35 minutes). Let cool, scrape out the flesh, and process until smooth. This will keep in fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for 3 months.

2. Brown your butter. Do this about 1/2 hour before you want to bake this so it can cool down a bit.

Browned-Butter Butternut Squash Bread with a Cinnamon Swirl

Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

1 1/2 Cups (192 g/ 6.75 oz)  all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 Cup (2.6 oz/ 78 ml)  milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
7 Tablespoons (3.5 oz/99 g) unsalted butter, browned, and cooled down to room temperature
3/4  Cup (150 g/5.3 oz) granulated sugar
1/3 (2.5 oz/73 g) Cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 Cup (8 oz) butternut squash puree

Cinnamon Paste (optional)

1/3 Cup dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 Tablespoons corn syrup
1 Tablespoon cream

Make the cinnamon swirl paste: Mix all the ingredients together until well blended. Set aside.

The loaf:

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon,ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt . Set aside. Mix together the milk with the vanilla. Set aside.

In a seperate mixing bowl, beat together the browned butter and sugars. Beat in  the eggs, one at a time. Add the butternut squash puree and beat on low-speed just until blended. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk mixture in 2 parts. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Scrape half of the batter into the pan. Pour the cinnamon paste over the top as evenly as you can. Scrape the remaining batter into the pan and even out the top. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely. Enjoy.

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