Recipe: Pumpkin Apple Bread

Pumpkin Apple Bread
From: Rebecca's Gourmet Bakery
Source: Bon Appetit Magazine, October 1993

For the topping:
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter -- softened

Bread batter:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 can (16 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs -- beaten lightly
granny smith apples peeled and chopped (about 2 cups)

Make the topping:
In a bowl blend the flour, the sugar, the cinnamon, and the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter two loaf pans, 9 by 5 by 3 inches.

Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, the salt, the baking soda, the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the cloves, and the allspice.

In another large bowl whisk together the pumpkin, the oil, the sugar, and the eggs.

Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture, stirring until the mixture is combined well, fold in the apples, and divide the batter between the pans.

Sprinkle the topping evenly on each loaf and bake the loaves in the middle of the oven for 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the loaves cool in the pans on a rack for 45 minutes, remove them from the pans, and let them cool completely. The breads keep, wrapped well in plastic wrap and foil, chilled for 1 week and frozen for 1 month.