I have been craving something made with pumpkin. Other than a few cooler days it hasn't quite been soup weather so I can't make my standard pumpkin soup recipes (Susan Branch's recipe from her Vinyard Seasons cookbook which I don't see on her website anymore. Go buy Heart of the Home if you don't already have one of her books).
So I made pumpkin bread instead. Anyone remember the great canned pumpkin shortage a year or two ago? You couldn't find canned pumpkin to save your life. I tend to keep a can or two in my pantry just in case.
I looked online for pumpkin bread recipes and ended up tweaking a couple recipes to suit my tastes. This recipe makes three loaves; one to eat right away, one to freeze and one to take to your Dad.
Pumpkin Bread
4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
3 cups sugar
2 15 oz. cans pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup oil
6 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
Pre-heat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease and flour (or line with parchment paper like I did) three 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pans.
Whisk the first six dry ingredients together. Mix the wet ingredients with the sugar. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet until just combined.
Divide evenly between the three loaf pans and bake for one hour (check at 45 minutes, do the toothpick test and remove when the toothpick comes out clean. Mine actually took about 65 minutes). Cool in pan for ten minutes and then remove and cool on rack completely before eating or freezing. Even better the next day.
Heck yes! The last few years of pumpkin-lack have been most noticeable! Actually bought 3 cans (on sale) after reading about another year of the same!!!
Mmmmm…looks great. Is it ok to add some nuts to the mix?
yum!! I totally just had to go and make this pumpkin bread. You hooked me with the “one to take to dad.” I baked all of mine in baby loaf pans and they look and smell awesome!!! thanks!!