Easy Spiced Pumpkin Bread
This fall favorite in my house is a deliciously spiced, super easy-to-make pumpkin goodness.
Servings 20 slices
Ingredients
- 3 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour (400g)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- 4 large eggs (200g) see notes for vegan option
- ½ cup vegetable oil (100g)
- ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce (128g) or use 1 C oil and no apple sauce
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin purée (about 2 cups)
- 2 cups sugar (396g)
- ⅔ cup water (152g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- coarse sparkling sugar (optional) for sprinkling on top
Optional mix-in's (use 1 C total per recipe - recipe makes 2 loaves = ½ C per loaf)
- chocolate chips
- cinnamon chips
- walnut or pecans
- crystallized ginger
- dried cranberries
- golden raisins
Optional Glaze
- 1¼ cup confectioners' sugar (141g)
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line two loaf pans with a parchment sling and grease, or skip the sling and just grease the loaf pans. If making muffins, grease 24 wells of a muffin tin or line with paper liners. You can also make 1 loaf and 12 muffins.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices, mixing to combine. Set aside.
- This step will make it easier to split the batter evenly between two loaf pans, or one loaf and 12 muffins. Grab a large bowl and weigh it empty. Write down this weight somewhere where you won't lose it (I use a piece of masking tape or painter's tape stuck to the side of the bowl). Or you can use this line here on the copy you printed ______________________.
- In the large bowl that you have weighed, whisk together the eggs, oil, apple sauce, pumpkin, sugar, water, and vanilla until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix until combined.
- If you are adding any mix-ins and you will be making the two loaves the same, go ahead and mix those in now. If you will be making two different loaves, say one with chocolate chips and one plain, weigh the bowl with the batter in it. Subtract the amount of the empty bowl that you wrote down earlier and divide by two. Pour off half of the batter into a separate bowl. If you will be making a plain loaf, you can just pour it directly into the prepared loaf pan.
- If using, sprinkle the top of the loaves or muffins with coarse sparkling sugar.
- Bake the bread for 60-75 minutes, muffins for 18-22 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the bread from the ovens. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. The parchment sling makes it SUPER easy to remove the hot bread from the loaf pan.
- While this bread is amazing warm right out of the oven, it actually tastes even better the second day—if any of it makes it that long! The flavors deepen and meld together, making each slice even more scrumptious.If you somehow have leftovers (which is highly unlikely!), this is a great recipe to make ahead of time. Wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. It will keep at room temperature for several days. You can also freeze individual slices for a cozy treat later!
- If you want to glaze the bread, wait for it to cool completely. Start with the lower amount of milk and mix with the confectioners' sugar until a thick, but pourable glaze is made. I aim for the consistency of corn syrup. Pour the glaze over the top of the bread. Slice, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
To create a delicious vegan version of the bread, combine 1/2 cup (50g) of finely ground flax meal with 3/4 cup (170g) of cold water. Allow the mixture to rest for 10 minutes to thicken. This flaxseed mixture can be used as a substitute for eggs, and I was pleasantly surprised by how similar the final result was to the original recipe—no one will know it’s egg-free!