Michelle Wojtowicz oversees bread
baking and desserts at Big Sur Bakery.
BIG SUR BAKERY’S
SAVORY PUMPKIN BREAD
BY RENEE BRINCKS
PHOTOGRAPH BY SARA REMINGTON
For Michelle Wojtowicz of Big Sur Bakery, autumn means menus built around seasonal delights such as quince, apple and, of course, pumpkin. Pumpkins don’t have a dominant flavor, she says, so they mix well with sweet potatoes, Butternut squash and a variety of spices. The restaurant’s popular pumpkin yeast bread, seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and sea salt, puts a surprising twist on the traditional fall fruit.
“It’s a table bread—it’s a bread to have with dinner, or to make French toast out of in the morning, or to use for croutons. It’s not a sweet bread,” Wojtowicz says. “You get all the flavors of a pumpkin pie, but in more of a savory option.”
To sample the pumpkin bread, visit the Big Sur Bakery this fall season, reserve a seat for the restaurant’s traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner or make it yourself at home with this recipe from the Big Sur Bakery Cookbook.
RECIPE
Local foods in season now:
Fruit: Apples • Avocados • Figs • Grapefruit • Kiwi
Melons • Lemons • Persimmons • Plums • Pomegranates
Oranges • Peaches • Pears • Quince • Raspberries
Strawberries • Tomatoes • Nectarines
Vegetables: Artichokes • Arugula • Basil • Beets • Bok Choy
Broccoli • Brussels Sprouts • Cabbage • Carrots Cauliflower
Celery • Chard • Collards • Corn • Cucumber • Eggplant
Garlic • Kale • Leeks • Lettuce • Mushrooms • Mustard Greens
Onions • Bell Peppers • Potatoes • Radishes • Spinach • Squash
Sprouts • Sunchokes • Turnips • Wheatgrass
Nuts: Almonds • Chestnuts • Pinenuts • Pistachios
Walnuts
Fish: Albacore Tuna • Cabezon • California Halibut
Dover Sole • Lingcod • Market Squid • Pacific Sardine
Petrale Sardine • Rock Crab • Sablefish • Shortspine
Thornyhead • Spot Prawn • Swordfish
Source: CAFF and area farmers’ market operators
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
