This easy pumpkin bread is moist, tender, and truly decadent! The pumpkin flavor is spot on and the warm fall spices are just perfect. This makes 2 loaves!
Course Bread
Cuisine American
Keyword fall recipes, pumpkin recipe, quick bread, Thanksgiving, yeast-free bread
Prep. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease two 9x5 loaf pans.
Combine. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree (1 can), eggs (4), oil (1 cup), water (2/3 cup), and sugar (3 cups) until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour (3 1/2 cups), baking soda (2 teaspoons), salt (1 1/2 teaspoons), cinnamon (1 teaspoon), nutmeg (1 teaspoon), cloves (1/2 teaspoon), and ginger (1/4 teaspoon). Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended.
Bake. Pour into prepared pans and bake for about 60-75 minutes -- cover the top of your pans with aluminum foil if they start to brown (mine started to brown after 45 minutes). Loaves are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Glaze. Meanwhile, make the glaze by stirring heavy cream into powdered sugar (1 cup) -- start with 1 tablespoon of heavy cream, and add only as much as you need to get the glaze into a slightly runny consistency, you don't want it to be too thin. Place glaze in a resealable bag, and snip a small hole in the tip. Drizzle over the top of your cooled loaves.
Notes
Canned Pumpkin: Be sure you grab canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie mix! Pumpkin pie mix has other ingredients that will throw off the ratio of seasonings in your bread.
Eggs: I use large eggs. It’s best to bring your eggs to room temperature so they incorporate properly into the batter. A quick way to warm up cold eggs straight out of the fridge: Place eggs in a large bowl, cover with warm tap water (not hot) and leave for 5 minutes. Wipe dry, then use per recipe.
Ground Spices: Spices are at their peak of flavor the first 6 months after opening.
Vanilla Extract: Use pure vanilla extract, not artificial, for the best flavor.
Testing for Doneness: When the bread is done it will puff up and crack on the top. A wooden skewer or cake tester inserted in the center of the loaf should come out clean.