Density versus fluffiness of pumpkin bread

[jaybee65]

I made my very first ever attempt at baking something last night: pumpkin walnut bread. In the process, I discovered many things: Flour is messy! Walnuts work better in bread when you remember to crush them, rather than dumping them into the mix whole! Drinking alcohol as you struggle to measure ingredients precisely is probably not a good idea, but *does* make it less aggravating!

I followed the recipe (found online here) as carefully as I could, and the bread turned out pretty well for a first attempt. However, the texture is a lot fluffier and less dense than I was expecting -- it's rather cake-like, in fact. Is this likely to be due to the kind of flour I used? (The recipe called for All-Purpose flour.) Is there another type of flour that might produce something denser? Or is it something other than the flour that influences this? Any suggestions gratefully received!

Comments

[redsnake05]

Hmmm. See, everything I bake turns out quite dense, even cakes that are supposed to be light and fluffy. It's like my superpower (fortunately, I like dense cakes). So I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to advise. If it was me, I'd use yoghurt or buttermilk in place of the water (both would up the density factor). Baking powder breads are another possibility - try and see. Experiments are good - in fact, that recipe, with 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and buttermilk instead of water, would probably be pretty yummy. I might even try it this afternoon.

[jaybee65]

Yogurt sounds like an excellent idea. I will try a few variations and see what happens! (And, honestly, I'm actually pleased with the results overall. Given that I am pretty clueless about preparing food, the fact that I managed to make something edible without blowing up the kitchen in the process is an achievement!)

Thanks again -- you've given me some good ideas!