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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
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
This came out really good! Even though it uses a lot of sugar, it is not too sweet. I feel like I could have added a bit more spice to it. The texture is perfect. I had a hard time wrapping it and letting it sit overnight before trying it, but I think that process definately helped it become moist! When my husband picked up the loaves last night, we laughed because he said they were so dense,...but this morning they are perfect! I used pureed butternut squash because I cannot get canned pumpkin where I live. I would definitely make this again! Thank you King Arthur for a wonderful recipe!
I have made this bread at least a dozen times. Everyone who has tasted it loves it. Some are surprised to learn that it is pumpkin bread. I have always added either dried fruit, nuts or chocolate chips, and the addition of other ingrediets makes the taste more subtle. Thank you for providing this wonderful recipe
I was pleased with this recipe with some edits. I cut the sugar in half, but could have added back a little more. I also halved the water and am satisfied with the moisture. I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and greased the pans with it as well, and had no problem getting the loaves out while they were still hot. I added spices and a dollop of blackstrap molasses Thanks KAF!
First of all, this is delish ... but, like most here i made some changes: i doubled the recipe and cut the sugar from over 4 cups to just a tich over 2 cups ... second, i used the full amount of liquid, but ... orange juice instead of water AND i changed up the oil to melted butter ... i added a tsp of nutmeg and about 3 tsps of cinnamon {penzeys} ... i had no problem with the flour, although, i did note the larger amount of baking soda as compared to baking powder and read the recipe a second and thrid time ... otherwise, everything else was awesome ... all in all, i'm happy with it, as are the rest of the *eaters* here ... have a wonderful thanksgiving ....
This recipe is excellent. I was looking for a pumpkin bread recipe for Thanks Giving. My daughter in law has an allergy to cinnamon and when I found this recipe I was delighted. I had a bag of KA cinnamon chips. In one loaf I used the cinnamon chips and walnut. The other one I left plain. I sprinkled both loafs with KA sparking white sugar. I weighted my ingredients and made the bread with no alterations. My husband said that the loaf with cinnamon chips and walnuts was excellent. I might try it sometime with cinnamon chips and nuts and make a snack cake. I will definitely be making this again.
I liked this recipe, however I followed recommendations from bakers who made it before me. This much modification is unusual in case of King Arthur Flour recipes. Substituted a cup of flour to whole wheat. Used only two cups of sugar, half of it was brown sugar. Also decreased the amount of water in half. The orange peel was a nice addition.
Made this bread recipe earlier this week. Divided into small pans and muffins. Delicious and so easy. Happy to have my granddaughters enjoy good homemade mini muffins!
