Autumn baking,  Baking Recipes,  Quickbreads & Loaves

Autumn Sunshine Pumpkin Bread

I cannot remember the last time I had Pumpkin Bread. Or to be honest, if I’ve ever had any at all.

I know, I know, I’ve been missing out haven’t I? Actually, pureed pumpkin isn’t quite popular locally, and neither are pumpkin pastries. The people here are big on sweet potatoes and bananas in their pastries, mostly. Pumpkin is used only for cooking dishes, most of which involve a little bit of coconut milk. Yum! But when you have thoughts of autumn and Thanksgiving in your mind, happening upon a couple of cans of pumpkin purees reads like a sign. Make pumpkin bread, it said. So I went ahead and made them.


And now I want to make pumpkin pies, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bars and brownies, pumpkin muffins with streusels, and a whole lot of other pumpkin-related goods. Oh so many things to make! But why must the place that sells these canned pumpkins be so far from my house!? I bought only one can of pumpkin puree because I wasn’t sure if pumpkin pastries would be well-received by my family, but as I took my first bite, I made a mental note to load up the next time I’m there so I can enjoy more pumpkin goodness.

I had been in a dilemma as to which recipe of Pumpkin Bread I would try out first with my unfortunate single can of canned pumpkin, but luckily I came across this recipe, and let me just say it was the best [re]introduction to pumpkin pastries I could possibly get!

This bread was a hit. Even when I sent off the other loaf I made to my grandmum, they had eaten every crumb within a day or two without even knowing what the mystery ingredient was. It never crossed their mind that the orange-ness of the bread came from pumpkin, so imagine their surprise when they found out! The gorgeous colour makes me think of autumn mornings.

The bread was wonderfully moist, and stayed that way for days and days. I also love that they smelled absolutely heavenly and autumn-y. One of the best things about baking, in my opinion, is having the fantastic smell of your baked goods fill your home. That said, I think mixing my own pumpkin pie spice definitely contributed to the yummy fragrance and flavour of the bread, so I highly recommend making your own.

Once you get comfortable with this base recipe for pumpkin bread, feel free to experiment with add-ons such as chocolate chips, chopped nuts, dried fruits, or maybe even candied citrus peels!

Pumpkin Bread

The bread was wonderfully moist, and stayed that way for days and days. I also love that they smelled absolutely heavenly and autumn-y.

Makes two 8.5-inch loaves

Ingredients

  • 1 15- ounce can pumpkin puree
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and flour two 8.5 x 4 x 2.5-inch loaf pans.
  • 2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, combine pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, vanilla and sugar until well blended.
  • 3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined.
  • 4. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
  • 5. Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes

If you’ve read some of my previous posts, you might be wondering why my quick breads always seem to appear long and stretched out horizontally. Must be something wrong with the sizing of my loaf pan, because I am wondering that myself. But no matter. The appearance does not change the fact that this is a must-try for pumpkin season; and I imagine they would be perfect for a Thanksgiving breakfast too.

Enjoy! 🙂

2 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.