Perfect Pumpkin Bread Recipe

I don’t post a lot of recipes. If you tried my cooking, you’d know why. It’s not that I’m a bad cook…it’s just that my hit/miss ratio is about 50/50. I do have a few things that I make very well, though, and pumpkin bread is one of them.

Caution – this is definitely a sweet treat and not super diet-friendly. I have modified it to include applesauce instead of the 1 cup of vegetable oil that the original version called for, and I think it’s a good base recipe that you can switch up to meet your dietary needs. I’ve made it on occasion with vegetable oil when I was out of applesauce, and I actually think that it’s better with applesauce. It comes out of the oven a lovely shade of golden brown with a sweet, sticky crust. It’s great straight out of the oven, but it’s even better the next day.

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Original recipe makes 2 – 9×5 inch loaves

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 4 eggs
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans.
3. Sift or mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, applesauce, eggs, and pumpkin puree.
5. Slowly stir in the flour mixture, alternating with water.  
6. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Adapted from Pumpkin Pie Bread by Tanja Miller. Original recipe found on AllRecipes.com. 

I let the loaves cool in the pan, then I take them out and wrap them in plastic wrap. They keep just fine on the kitchen counter, although I’m not sure for how long because it never lasts more than 3 days.

Do you have your own recipe for pumpkin bread? What’s your favorite type of quick bread? Share it with us in the comments!