This pumpkin bread is a perfect fall dessert. Full of warming spices it is perfect with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning or with a huge scoop of ice cream for dessert.
Once the weather cools down I do like to use up all of those great looking pumpkins that I find in the store. While I love a great banana or zucchini bread this is such a great dish for the fall. This is one of my favorite treats to bring into work. The best part is that it makes 2 loaves so you can keep one for yourself and share the other. Keep one thing in mind though regardless of who you share this with it’ll disappear quickly.
In this recipe
This is a great spiced quick bread where the star of the show is the pumpkin. However there are a lot of ingredients that make this pumpkin bread work.Â
Pumpkin puree:Â fresh pumpkin puree is best but you can use a 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree for this recipe and it will work just as well.
Buttermilk: this will interact with the baking powder in order to rise. It will also keep the pumpkin bread soft and tender.
Warming spices: these are the spices that create a warming sensation in your mouth and the back of your throat. These include ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
Canola oil: this will keep the cake moist and tender. Â
Keep the cake moist
One of the reasons that I like to make quick breads like pumpkin bread and banana bread with oil and buttermilk is that both of these ingredients help make sure that they stay nice and moist and soft. The lactic acid in buttermilk helps slow down gluten formation. The oil does the same thing. This creates a softer and more tender crumb. When the gluten formation slows down this allows for the batter to rise higher as there is less gluten which also creates a lighter crumb texture.Â
Mixing the batter
This is a recipe that doesn’t need a stand mixer or even a hand mixer. One of the things that you want to make sure of is that all of the oil has been incorporated before adding the rest of the ingredients. Once the pumpkin and buttermilk have been added you will want to pour the liquid ingredients over the dry and not the other way around. This will make it easier to mix and help with the clumping of the dry ingredients. Also by doing it this will it will help prevent over mixing.Â
Let the pumpkin bread cool
You will want to make sure that you let the pumpkin bread cool before slicing. Allow it to cool in the baking dish for at least 15 minutes before placing it on a cooling rack. By letting it cool it will allow the crumb to set up as well. If you slice it too early then the bottom of the pumpkin bread can become gummy or really dense. This is going to a softer quick bread so giving it the time to setup is well worth it. To store the pumpkin bread wrap it in cling film before placing it in the refrigerator. It will last about a week. If you freeze it it will last about 2 months in an airtight container.Â
Looking for other pumpkin recipes?
The Best Pumpkin Bread
Equipment
- 2 9 x 5 inch loaf pan
- 2 Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Sheet pan optional
Ingredients
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup canola oil or another flavor neutral oil
- â…” cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ tablespoon salt
- ½ tablespoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, 177°C, or gas mark 4. Grease 2 9x5 inch loaf pans and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and baking powder. Mix to combine and set aside.
- In another mixing bowl whisk the eggs and then add the sugar and oil. Whisk until combined then add the pumpkin puree and buttermilk. Whisk until evenly combined.
- Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula then whisk until the batter is smooth but be careful not to overmix. Split the batter between the two loaf pans.
- Place the loaf pans on the sheet pan and bake uncovered for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes away clean.
- Allow to cook in the pan for 15 minutes before removing the pumpkin bread from the pan and cool on a cooling rack.
Nutrition
