Recipe: Spicy Squash Bread

A recipe for bread, with butternut squash and chai tea, that will charm you with its comforting warmth and bewitch you with its fragrance. Gingerbread lovers will be delighted to find the spicy burst of chai in a soft, moist bread.

Ingredients

• 300 g (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 10 ml (2 tsp.) baking powder
• 5 ml (1 tsp) baking soda
• 5 ml (1 tsp.) ground cinnamon
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp) ground nutmeg
• 40 g organic Camellia Chai
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp) salt
• 210 g (1 cup) brown sugar
• A small butternut squash.
• 250 ml (1 cup) butternut squash puree infused with Chaï Camellia.   
• 10 g (1/4 cup) butternut squash, diced and caramelized.
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 30 ml (2 tbsp.) roasted pumpkin seeds.

Prepare the chai-infused butternut squash

Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds (set aside) and cut into four large pieces. In a large cauldron, pour 2 L of water and 40 g of organic Camellia Chai tea. Add the squash and bring to a boil before reducing to medium heat. Cook 15-20 min until the squash is ‘al dente'. Remove one piece and let the rest cook until the squash is tender. Once the squash is ready, remove with tongs and let rest. Then strain the tea.

Caramelized squash

Take the Al dente piece of the squash and cut into small cubes. In a frying pan, melt 2 tbsp of unsalted butter and add 1 tbsp of brown sugar. Then add the squash and caramelize for a few minutes to finish cooking and give it a color.

Pumpkin Squash

In a blender, purée the remaining butternut squash and add tea gradually as needed until smooth. *The purée will keep for 1 week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Prepare the butternut squash seeds (while the squash is cooking)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Clean the squash seeds by separating the remaining flesh from the squash and then rinse quickly. Spread the seeds on a baking sheet with a generous drizzle of olive oil. Place in the oven for 20 minutes, until the seeds are well toasted. Remove from the oven, add a pinch of salt and a pinch of brown sugar.

Make the squash bread

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a loaf pan. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. In another large bowl, whisk brown sugar with 1 cup butternut squash puree, oil and eggs until mixture thickens. Then using a spatula, incorporate the dry ingredients until the mixture is homogeneous. Add the desired quantity of caramelized squash cubes and mix gently. Then, distribute the dough in the pan and sprinkle it with pumpkin seeds. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean out of the pan. Let cool on a wire rack. Serve sliced with maple syrup if desired.