How to Make Easy, Fruit Sweetened Sourdough Pumpkin Bread (Diabetic Friendly, No Artificial Sweeteners)

This sourdough pumpkin bread is easy to make and good! It's a barely sweet yeast bread and would be at home on your dinner or breakfast table next to a savory main dish. The bread gets its modest sweetness from the pumpkin, some chopped dates, and dried cranberries. If you're on a diabetic diet or want to "eat healthy," the bread is a good option (in moderation, as always), as it includes plenty of whole-grain white whole-wheat flour and extra protein in the form of chopped pecans. We like the bread toasted for breakfast, and it also makes a nice snack with a slice of cheese. Enjoy!

How to Make Easy, Fruit Sweetened Sourdough Pumpkin Bread (Diabetic Friendly, No Artificial Sweeteners)

Easy, Fruit Sweetened Sourdough Pumpkin Bread (Diabetic Friendly) -- Makes 2 Loaves

1 cup of sourdough starter/discard

1 large egg

1/4 cup of milk

1/4 cup of canola oil

15 ounce can of pumpkin puree

1/2 cup of chopped, pitted dates

1/2 cup of dried cranberries

1 cup of white whole-wheat flour

In a large bowl combine the starter/discard, egg, milk, oil, and pumpkin puree and mix them well. Stir in the dates, cranberries, and white whole-wheat flour until combined. Loosely cover the mixture and let it sit for at least an hour. I routinely let my mixture sit for 3-5 hours, and it's fine. When you're ready, add:

2 cups of white whole-wheat flour

2 teaspoons of salt

2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice

1 cup of chopped pecans

Stir, then knead in the additional ingredients above. Then knead the dough for 3-5 minutes, kneading in an additional 1/2 cup or so of flour to prevent the dough from being too sticky to knead. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and shape each piece into a loaf. Spritz two medium loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and place the shaped dough in the pans. You can use a sharp knife to score the tops of the dough loaves, if you wish. Spritz the tops of the loaves with a little oil or cooking spray and loosely cover them with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it increases in volume by about one-third. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the breads for 45-55 minutes or until an instant read thermometer registers 190-200 degrees. Let the breads cool in their pans for 5-10 minutes before turning them out to cool completely. The breads will slice best after they have cooled.

How to Make Easy, Fruit Sweetened Sourdough Pumpkin Bread (Diabetic Friendly, No Artificial Sweeteners)

How to Make Easy, Fruit Sweetened Sourdough Pumpkin Bread (Diabetic Friendly, No Artificial Sweeteners)