Sweet Potato Pecan Bread

About this Recipe

The first time I baked a dessert type recipe with a somewhat strange ingredient was when I first discovered that you could use black beans instead of flour for a chocolate cake recipe. Not only could you use black beans, but no one even knew! It was ingenious and was the first time I snuck something healthy into dessert. Talking to my friends who are mothers now, it seems as though there is a constant mission of sneaking nutritious food into kids bellies. The great thing about this recipe is that you won’t have to sneak it in, the kids will just want to eat it. Mind you, not all kids like nuts, so you can always omit these from the recipe.

Grandmother’s TIPS for Sweet Potato Pecan Bread Recipe:

1. You can also divide this batch up into muffins so they are easy to pack and will be quicker to bake. Start doing a test if muffins are done at 40 minutes.

2. Be sure it is baked all the way through. It is easy to under bake this because it is so deep in the 9x5 inch baking pan. If your testing stick does not get right to the bottom you can be tricked that it is done a little ahead of its time. It would bake more evenly in a 9x13 baking pan because it is not so deep. There is a lot of moisture in this recipe. Even if it is a bit under baked though, it does not take away from the flavor and the texture is still good.

3. This was a recipe we saw and wanted to try with freshly baked sweet potatoes rather than canned which the recipe we followed was using. You need to be sure it is baked all the way through. It is easy to under bake this because it is so large that if your testing stick does not get right to the bottom you can be tricked that it is done if the test stick is too short and does not go all way to the bottom of the baking pan. In future we would bake this in a 9x13 pan as it has so much volume.

4. Baking loafs, muffins and breads with healthy vegetables like sweet potatoes is a very sneaky way to introduce healthy food into desserts. This Sweet Potato Loaf recipe is sweet and satisfying, but not too sweet so it makes for a great quick breakfast on the go or treat with your afternoon tea or coffee.

This sweet potato pecan loaf will stay good for about 3 days on the counter, but store it in the fridge to keep it for longer. Nuts have the tendency to grow mold though so when you purchase your pecans for this recipe you can soak for 24 hours in pure water and rinse them every 8 hours. Add in just a teaspoon of white vinegar to the water the last time you soak them and leave it for only 20 minutes to protect the pecans from mold. Then let them dry out before using them in this recipe or eat them plain right away if you like. Learning about what kills mold is important to preserving the food you buy and learning about the dangers of mold in food can help protect you from mycotoxins they carry.


Ingredients

(Print)

Makes: 1 large 9x5 loaf pan cut into 12 slices Or you can bake in a 9x13 baking dish

2 large freshly baked sweet potato - enough to make 15 ounces (2 cups of mashed and cooled)

OR the original recipe called for 15 ounces of canned sweet potatoes drained reserving the liquid

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil - we used grapeseed oil

1/3 cup water

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup pecans - chopped

Directions

We baked our sweet potatoes ahead so they had time to cool down before using. If you are using raw sweet potatoes first check out this tutorial on How to Bake Sweet Potatoes.

1. If you are using your own freshly baked sweet potatoes, cut in half, peel off the skins and put into a mixing bowl.Mash with a hand potato masher. Measure out 15 ounces. Let cool before using in the recipe.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Grease a large 9x5 loaf pan with oil. Be sure to grease the sides as well.

(If you are using the canned sweet potatoes, add 2 Tablespoons of the reserved liquid when you are mashing.) We have not done this recipe with canned sweet potatoes ourselves as we wanted to make this recipe using freshly baked sweet potato.

5. Transfer the mashed sweet potato into a large mixing bowl.

6. Break the eggs into a small bowl, then add them to the mixing bowl. The reason for breaking the eggs into a small bowl first is so that if you get any shells into the eggs while breaking them you can easily scoop them out.

7. Add the sugar oil and water.

8. Use an electric mixer on medium speed to combine the ingredients.

9. Add the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda and mix in.

10. Add the flour and stir in first with the spatula to combine then use the mixer to beat in. Mix well. Be sure to scrape down the edges and bottom with a spatula and stir. Add the chopped pecans and fold in.

11. Transfer the batter into the baking dish.

12. Place into the oven on the middle rack. Set the timer for 70 minutes. Check for doneness when the timer goes off. Ours was not cooked at this time and we had to tent it with aluminum foil and bake for another 20 minutes. This is a very long bake time for a loaf and if using the 9x13 inch baking dish, the baking time will be quicker than the deep 9x5 loaf pan.

Once it has browned on the top, tenting it is going to help prevent it from browning any further or burning.

13. Cooking times are going to vary with ovens and elevation. Stick a long toothpick into the middle all the way down to the bottom of the loaf and if it comes out clean its ready and if not put it back and continue baking until ready. This is a very big deep loaf with a lot of moisture in it so expect it to take a long time to bake.

14. Remove from oven and place onto a cooling pad and let sit in the baking dish a full 15 minutes then invert on the cooling rack to remove from the baking dish and invert again so the bread is upright. Let it continue to cool to room temperature before you cut it. Transfer to a cutting board and using a large bread knife slice and enjoy!

The texture is similar to a banana bread, very moist. Once cooled put into a ziploc bag or a container with a lid

ENJOY!

Return to this Sweet Potato Pecan Bread recipe or check out more recipes at Grandmother's Kitchen

This sweet potato pecan homemade bread recipe looks as good as it tastes, and if that weren't enough, it's healthy too with lots of sweet potato and pecans for added nutrition. This is a great after-school snack or can be packed in lunches for a healthy and tasty addition to the day. This sweet potato pecan homemade bread will fill your house with the lovely aroma of cinnamon, perfect for those fall and winter days.

This homemade bread uses all-purpose flour, but if you are trying to stay away from gluten, you can substitute the all-purpose white flour with a good gluten-free all-purpose flour at a ratio of 1:1. It is also recommended when making gluten-free bread to use one teaspoon of xanthan gum, if you don't have xanthan gum, use one teaspoon of cornstarch, arrowroot, gelatin or agar. Just remember that not all purpose gluten free flours are created equally. It might take you trying one or two brands before you find one that you like. Just remember that if you are going to use non-gluten flour, there is no natural rising agent in the flour so you need to understand how to make adjustments to the recipe.

Pecans are a healthy addition to this sweet potatoes recipe and full of pecan nutrition. Sweet potatoes on the EWG’s Clean Fifteen list of fruits and vegetables that government tests and show that they usually have the least pesticide residues.(1)

References: (1) Dirty Dozen, EWG's 2018 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™ (2017), Retrieved from https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php

Since you’ll be using a loaf pan to make this pecan loaf you’ll also probably want to know a few house cleaning tips for how to clean pots and pans easily. It’s best if you can soak a loaf pan in the sink first, especially if there is residue left over from the baked cake which can become burned onto the pan. Fill up the pan with hot water from your tap or boiling water from your kettle and add some dish soap to it to let it soak for at least 15 minutes or until the water has cooled down enough to the touch.

You can also make a paste out of natural kitchen cleaners including baking soda or sea salt to remove tough stains off of pots and pans. Make a paste by adding just a bit of water to baking soda and stirring, add more water if needed until you have a paste then use it with a scrubbing sponge to clean the pan.



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