Squash Cornmeal Rye Bread

This is my favorite fall bread and each fall when the pumpkins and butternut squash come in, it's one of the first things I make. This is made by hand, so don't worry if you don't have a bread machine. And don't be afraid, so many people think that making bread is complicated and difficult. It's not, anyone can do it. The recipe is adapted from  a recipe by Beth Hensperger in  Baking Bread: Old and New Traditions which unfortunately is out of print, although some copies are still available. She has a number of other books out, but I don't know if the original recipe for this one is in any of them.

You can use any squash you like, I've used pumpkin and butternut in this, both with great results. The recipe makes two loaves so you can freeze one for later if you want. I've done this and it freezes well.  I use mostly blackstrap molasses in mine, it is a great way to boost iron intake for vegetarians. If you don't like the flavor of it, just follow the directions for subbing that I included in the recipe.

I cook, puree and freeze squash for use later in the year in recipes like this bread. This post tells about  Winter Squash Varieties , tells how to cook squash and links to some other recipes to use it in.