Pumpkin bread is a perennial fall favorite of mine.  It’s as delicious to smell as it is to eat.  It can be nice and simple, or fancy with seeds and frostings and fillings.  I prefer mine on the simple side.  The fanciest I tend to go is roasted pumpkin seeds on top.  I generally make pumpkin bread once a year, either in October or December (not in November…I don’t want to compete with pumpkin pie) and freeze it to enjoy throughout the year.

Behold the mighty pumpkin.

Like most quick breads (i.e., breads that don’t have yeast) pumpkin bread is easy to make, and doesn’t have the annoying resting time or kneading that regular bread does.  And as with most baking, the smell that fills your house is amazing.  So here I will share with you the recipe I use to make pumpkin bread.

Yummy pumpkin muffins.

Pumpkin Bread:

• 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree, or equivalent measure of homemade pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp. ground cloves
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger

(Note: if you have your pumpkin pie spice you can use it in place of the cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, but the ratio of spices is slightly different, so just be aware of that.  It’ll still taste good.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease and flour whatever pans you’re using (or line with muffin tins if you’re going that route).

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, and spices. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.  Don’t fill the pans all the way to the top!  This batter expands a lot while it bakes.  The first time I made this it ended up overflowing all over the oven.

Loaves bake for about 50 minutes; muffins are usually done in closer to 30.  To check doneness stick a toothpick in the middle of the loaf, and if it comes out clean, they’re done.  If not, check again in a few minutes.

Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack for a bit, then remove from the pan and let finish cooling on the rack.  Be super careful removing from the pan.  More than once I’ve had the top of the loaf come off (as you can see in the picture below).

This recipe makes 3 large loaves, 4 small loaves, or 2 small loaves and 12 muffins.

All wrapped up and ready for the freezer