After putting in the extra effort to produce a beautiful cake, pie or bread in a high elevation kitchen, many DIY bakers sadly remember to turn off the oven yet forget to store their baked good properly. Or maybe no one has ever informed them that their baked goods might not only require a little extra flour and water, but plastic wrap as well. Of course, if the only thing you bake are brownies that you eat in one sitting before they’ve cooled, you don’t need to worry about silly things such as “storage.” For the rest of ya’ll, here’s what you need to know about storing your baked goods in places like Denver:

• Baked goods are prone to drying out and quickly becoming stale at high elevations.
• Recipes that have been adjusted for high altitudes will produce baked goods that stay fresh  longer.
• For short-term storage, wrap baked goods in  airtight plastic wrap or place them inside sealable plastic bags.
• For long-term storage, find (or make) some space in the freezer. Prepare your goodies for hibernation by wrapping them in several layers of airtight plastic and then either covering them with heavy foil or placing them inside heavy-duty freezer bags.

Last night several friends asked me for the recipe for the “absolutely wonderful,” “amazing,” and “best pumpkin bread I have ever had” that I had brought to our Christmas party. To tell the truth, though, the nice words my friends had for the pumpkin bread were, well, an understatement. This pumpkin loaf was very heavy, yet not too dense; rather, the texture was perfect. The crust was a beautiful golden shade all around. This pumpkin loaf also pulled off what is one of the most difficult feats of all in baking: being sweet without sugary.

There was one thing about this pumpkin loaf, though, that I wish was different …

It wasn’t my recipe.

In fact, I’m not even sure how to make this pumpkin loaf from scratch, because I didn’t do so the first time.

That’s right, I made it from a kit, Libby’s Pumpkin Quick Bread Kit to be specific. I bought mine at a Safeway here in Denver over the weekend and am going back to get more just as soon as I can get away from this computer. If you find the kits in your own local supermarket, you should buy up as many as you have room to store, as they are only available during the holiday season. And even then, these sweet little kits (no pun intended) can be a bit difficult to track down.

Oh, and while you are at the supermarket, you should go ahead and pick up some eggs and vegetable oil if you are running low. The kit comes with the bread mix and a can of Libby’s pumpkin. The recipe also requires 4 large eggs, 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, and water.

One you have purchased your very own Libby’s Pumpkin Quick Bread Kit, follow this recipe (found on the side of the kit) for turning it into your own high altitude holiday hit:

Ingredients:

Pumpkin bread mix

1 can Libby’s pumpkin

4 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1-1/4 cups water (1 cup water only at lower altitudes)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Blend the eggs, vegetable oil, and water together in a large mixing bowl.

Gradually stir in the bread mix until it is completely moistened.

Pour batter into greased 9″x5″ loaf pans.

Bake for 70 to 80 minutes or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean when inserted near the middle of the loaf and the crust is golden.

Notes:

The directions on the box say to bake for 60 to 65 minutes, regardless of altitude, but my loaves took 80 minutes to bake. To be safe, it would be a good idea to start checking your loaves for doneness the first time you use this recipe at 60 minutes initially and then every 10 minutes thereafter.

You may also wish to use this mix to make muffins. To do so, prepare the batter the same as for the pumpkin loaf but divide it among several muffin pans instead of loaf pans. (Muffin pans should be greased or lined with cupcake holders.) Bake regular size muffins for 20 to 25 minutes; mini muffins should be done in 15 to 20 minutes.

Regardless of weather you use this kit to make pumpkin loaves, regular, size muffins, or mini muffins, you should be aware that this batter likes to rise on the high side, at least at 5,280 feet, that is. Therefore, fill your pans about two-thirds full. Filling pans all the way to the top will give the expression “muffin top” a new meaning, as well as the inside of your oven a need for a serious cleanup job.