Monastery of the Angels Pumpkin Bread

lynnski / LA's Note:

This heavenly bread recipe comes from the Monastery of the Angels, Los Angeles, California. The nuns sell this homemade bread in their gift shop. For information on a visit, do a google search. Meanwhile, here's the recipe. The bread freezes well and makes a good make-ahead holiday gift. It's been a best seller at the nuns annual Holiday Boutique, a fund raiser with the proceeds going to charity, held in the rotunda of the Los Angeles City Hall. This popular recipe has been published several times in the Los Angeles Times food section, reader request column; and can also be found in the "Los Angeles Times California Cookbook" 1981 (republished in 1990) on page 264.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Serves: 40

Yield: 3.0 loaves

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 cups pumpkin, cooked & mashed or 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped
• walnut halves, for decoration

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
3. combine eggs, oil, water, and pumpkin and mix well.
4. Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
5. Add chopped walnuts.
6. Turn into three greased 8 X 4-inch loaf pans.
7. Top with a few walnut halves.
8. Bake for one hour or until a wood pick inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean.
9. Cool before removing from the pans.

Reviews

[Chef #1453703]

If you live within driving distance of Hollywood, do yourself a favor and go visit the beautiful monastery and wonderful nuns, and buy some of their fantastic pumpkin bread. This small community is struggling to survive, and what better way to help them than to support their baking efforts. With all the greed and excess of Hollywood we need to keep this community as its spiritual balance. If you don't live nearby, this recipe is quick and easy, and the results are great. But, not as good as the real thing.

[Chef #971571]

This is a basic formula for a pumpkin bread. This is not the recepie from the monastery. The nuns confirmed that thier formula has carrots but she wouldn't tell me how much. She took a vow of slience on that info. :)

[aronsinvest]

This recipe is the bomb. Everyone loves it and it freezes well.