Monday, October 3, 2011

Pumpkin Spice Bread

This past weekend was the first sweater weather of the season in Atlanta. My husband and I wasted no time and whipped out the chai and our slippers and pretended it was much colder than it was. I swear a few degrees cooler and I would have lit our tiny wood-burning fireplace. Needless to say, we're ready for fall to be here. The smell of this pumpkin bread wafting through your home will definitely help you get into the cooler weather.

Three things set this recipe apart from most pumpkin bread. 1) There is no added fat. 2) It includes more spices. 3) It has more pumpkin: a whole can for one loaf!

I actually baked this twice once with a little fat (1/4 cup oil) and once where I subbed more pumpkin for the oil. I like the taste of the no-fat one more, but it came out a little gummy in spots. (I may have under baked or there might be a little too much moisture in the recipe.) The flavor though, yum! It reminded me of the Dutch spice bread ontbijtkoek, but more moist and with stronger spice flavor rather than molasses flavor. I'll probably play around with the moisture content and baking time to try and perfect the texture.

Check out how orange the batter is from the pumpkin:
I like to eat this bread with a little butter, but you could also bake these as muffins, add a topping, or stir in some nuts. (Pecans and walnuts are both good options.) Toasted pumpkin seeds are also pretty as a topping.

Pumpkin Spice Bread
Yields 1 loaf (about 12 servings)

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 15 ounce can pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
2 eggs
1/3 cup water (I may omit or reduce the water next time since I think the loaf was a little too moist.)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.

2. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, pumpkin, and water. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

3. Pour into a well greased 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and bake at 325 degrees for 80 to 90 minutes or until it tests done with a toothpick.  Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack. This bread tastes better the day after its baked once the spices have mingled a bit. 

19 comments:

  1. I sometimes get a gummy texture when I stick too many bananas in my banana bread...I suppose from too much moisture?

    Well, I say the more pumpkin the merrier! This looks fantastic!

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  2. I just made pumpkin puree yesterday, I'm putting this on my short list of recipes to try. Looks so yummy!

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  3. This sounds so perfect! i can not wait to try it!

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  4. Too moist? Never! That looks insanely moist, which is how I think quick breads should be. I love gummy spots. :)

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  5. This looks so easy and yummy! I've gotta make it ASAP!

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  6. This was by far the best pumpkin bread i've ever tried. SO MOIST and that's always what i'm looking for. it's also not bland at all, tonsss of flavor. great recipe! thanks for sharing and providing a recipe that i'm sure i'll use multiple times every fall for a longgg time!
    -casey

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  7. @Casey

    Thanks! You're the first person to report back after making something from my blog. I'm so glad you liked it!

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  8. I made this today and it is fantastic! I omitted the water and it still came out incredibly moist. I also added 1 tsp of vanilla and made a praline topping of 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans, 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 tbsp. butter. It is really, really yummy! Thanks for sharing :)

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  9. @SS. Thanks! Oh man do I love praline topping. I bet that was a killer pairing!

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  10. Amazing recipe! It is very moist, and I did add almost all the water. It is very spicy - which I love, but if you'd like a less spice-y bread, cut down on the cloves! This is probably one of the best pumpkin breads I've ever made!

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  11. @clairexandra. Thanks for the comment! When I tried this fresh out of the oven, I thought the cloves were a little strong too, but as with a lot of spiced breads, by the next day the spices have mingled better and the crust softens up really nicely too.

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  12. Looks delicious, can't wait to try it out! I think I might try swapping in some molasses for some of the sugar, I love the deep taste it brings to baked goods : )

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  13. I'm trying this right now and many of the commentators are right: it's never too moist.

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  14. im going to make this today! thanks for this post! ill let you know.. we love pumpkin bread. i love all your posts! they keep my brain jonesing for sweets! danger!

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  16. Since I last made this bread I have thought about it all the time - and passed on the link to this page! You're right, it's even better the second and third day... it didn't stay around much longer than that! Tonight I am trying it again and replacing the pumpkin with shredded zucchini, I will report back! I also used a little over 3/4 cup of sugar in this one to be a bit healthier, so we'll see what the verdict is :)

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  17. i can only assume that this bread was a huge hit among my roommates, as it was gone within 15 minutes of taking it out of the oven and i only managed to grab a tiny bite! thank you so much for this recipe=)

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  18. Used whole wheat flour and subbed all the sugar for splenda--omitted water, but added about a tablespoon of oil. A handful of slivered almonds (I love nuts in quick breads!), just few shakes of cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice (I'm impatient when it comes to the deliciousness of pumpkin bread..), turned the oven to 385, and baked for 50 min.
    I was pleasantly surprised--most other online recipes for semi-healthy pumpkin breads end up having weird textures/tastes. This one was perfectly moist, and without any weird texture. I'll definitely make this again--it's much healthier than my betty crocker fav. I'd suggest adding another tsp of baking soda, and using about a half cup less sugar. Other than that, it's lovely. :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. I'm contemplating a version for my dad that uses stevia in place of the sugar, so it's good to know it works well with Splenda. I maybe should have a disclaimer on here that I fall into the camp of people that like their desserts candy-sweet. To my astonishment I found out a few years ago that this is not absolutely everyone!

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