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Easy Pumpkin Bread
Whenever we have a company gathering, this pumpkin bread is one of the first things to disappear. Super-moist and packed with flavor, it can be made into a simple pumpkin loaf; or enhanced with chocolate chips and/or nuts. Or raisins. Or cinnamon chips. Or...
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups (or one 15-ounce can) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2/3 cup water
- 3 1/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, optional
- coarse white sugar for sprinkling on top, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pans (if you're making the plain version of the bread); two 9" x 5" loaf pans (if you're adding chocolate chips and nuts); or one of each, if you're making one plain loaf, and one loaf with chips and nuts.
- In a large bowl, beat together the oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin, and water.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and vanilla, stirring to combine.
- Mix in the chips and nuts, if you're using them. To make one loaf with chips/nuts, one loaf without, divide the batter in half. Leave one half plain, and add 3/4 cup chips and 1/2 cup nuts to the other half.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pans. Sprinkle the tops of the loaves with coarse sparkling sugar, if desired.
- Bake the bread for 60 to 80 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean; and that same tester inserted about 1/2" into the top of the loaf doesn't encounter any totally unbaked batter.
- Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack. When it's completely cool, wrap it well in plastic wrap, and store it overnight before serving.
- Yield: 2 loaves.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 1 piece
- Servings Per Batch 16 per loaf
Amount Per Serving:
- Calories 240
- Calories from Fat 100
- Total Fat 12g
- Saturated Fat 2.5g
- Trans Fat 0g
- Cholesterol 25mg
- Sodium 125mg
- Total Carbohydrate 33g
- Dietary Fiber 1g
- Sugars 22g
- Protein 3g
* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.
Tips from our bakers
- Can you use your own homemade puréed pumpkin? Sure. Just be aware that it'll probably be thinner than canned pumpkin, so you'd want to add a bit more flour. Results may vary...
- Want to add a simple icing? Just before serving, drizzle with a mixture of 1 cup confectioners' or glazing sugar, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 1 tablespoon milk.
- How about making gift loaves? This recipe makes eight 3" x 5" loaves, with the addition of the chips and nuts. Bake the loaves for about 45 to 60 minutes; start testing at 45 minutes, and remove from the oven when a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the loaves comes out free of crumbs.
- Variation: substitute diced crystallized ginger (mini diced ginger), golden raisins, or dried cranberries for the chocolate chips and/or nuts.
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Reviews
Delicious, moist, and easy to prepare. First time we made it, we gave away several small loaves ... one to a friend's visiting English pastry chef who asked us for the recipe!! We used Turbinado (Sugar in the Raw) in place of granulated sugar, and it came out great. Recommend sprinkling Turbinado on the surface before baking; creates a wonderful sweet crunchy texture. Also added chopped pecans, with whole pecans toasted on the surface during baking. Scrumptious-- this will be a staple in our house!
This recipe was really easy to put together and to bake. At 70 min mine ended up still being a touch underdone in the very top center. I just cut these parts out and served it at my university. Got rave reviews and my professor was very excited to bring some home to his wife.
I love pumpkin bread, but I didn't have much luck with other recipes. This one is perfect! It's so easy, best crumb ever, and I love that it makes two loaves (they disappear fast). I used melted butter because I didn't have the correct kind of oil. I was worried that it may be a bit dry, but it was totally perfect. I'll stick with the butter as I prefer using it when I am able. Thank KAF! Only flour I ever use!
I found this recipe here a few years ago and I've been making this Pumpkin Bread ever since. I threw away all my other recipes and this has been it. I did add 1 tsp ginger a few years back. Thank you KAF for sharing this recipe
This came out so good I had to make two more batches, friends and family loved it! It was really easy. I increased the amount of nutmeg to 1 tsp and added 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, similar to a pumpkin pie recipe. I will be making this again for sure.
This bread came out incredibly well. Very moist and flavorful, nice crumb texture. I added chopped walnuts and golden raisins, and both made good additions to the texture and flavor.
LOVE this recipe! Every time I bake it, my husband tells me it's the best one yet. We aren't huge nutmeg people, so I use 1/2 tsp of nutmeg and add 1 heaping tsp. of cinnamon. I am also so thankful that you have measurements in grams - the ONLY way to bake is with a scale!
I always punt to King Arthur to make sure I have my leavening proportions correct and this recipe nails it. Everyone adds something of their own - mine was toffee chips and dark chocolate chips. Thanks to you all for working so hard to make your recipes perfect
We love this recipe. We've also baked it in a 9x13 pan as a cake. We always use home baked pumpkin puree. The recipe notes suggest adding extra flour, but I just use 2 2/3 cup pumpkin instead of 2 cups pumpkin and 2/3 cup water. That allows for the extra moisture and has worked perfectly every time.
worst pumpkin bread recipe I have ever made. the bread tastes strange and the consistency is off. I have made many other pumpkin bread recipes and this is the first one I have ever hated.We're sincerely sorry to hear about your disappointing results, Katharine. This recipe recently underwent retesting, and our test kitchen bakers adjusted the amount of leaveners called for: 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder provided the best flavor and texture in the pumpkin bread. If you made this recipe a few weeks ago, we encourage you to try this new and improved version. We think the results will please your palate. Kye@KAF
