What a lovely start to October it has been. I’ve reacquainted myself with my collection of jeans that seems to have somehow shrunken in the closet ever so slightly. I mean… jeans shrink from neglect right? It’d definitely not that I’ve moved to New Orleans, land of the beignet. I have also rediscovered my awkwardly large collection of scarves. Scarves are blankets we can wear in public… of course I own too many.
With the hint of crisp in the air, I’m also getting into pumpkin. There’s no use fighting it. Since I’m rediscovering old things as new, I thought I would remake my standard pumpkin bread recipe. It offers a familiar comfort that I’m looking for these days. This time I’ve used melted butter instead of vegetable oil and added the slightest dash of black pepper for intrigue.
Leaves are changing. We’re discovering we own too many scarves and too small jeans. We’re making our own Pumpkin Pie Spice. We’re drinking hot lattes. All signs point to Pumpkin Bread. Let’s just be here.
I am very pleased to report that this recipe is both simple and versatile. It also falls under the categories ‘delicious’ and ‘comforting’ so… we’re winning. I used melted butter (because DUH), though you can substitute vegetable / canola / or coconut oil if you have something against butter (it’s cool…). The egg can also be substituted with a flax seed egg. That leaves us at just about vegan, doesn’t it?
This is my favorite part: the coming together.
Egg, melted butter, and pumpkin puree are whisked together while the flour, leavening, and spices are tossed together.
Brown sugar is stirred into the wet ingredients along with orange juice and vanilla extract. The result is a velvety thick pumpkin mixture.
Stirring the wet ingredients into the dry. It’s teamwork between these two.
The batter is thick, sweet, and spiced. I spooned it into a parchment lined baking sheet.
I topped the batter with walnuts before baking though you can use pecans, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds according to what you have in your pantry.
Forty five minutes is just enough time to caffeinate, over caffeinate, and soften a bit of butter to spread on the warm bread.
This bread could easily be our Autumn staple… right up there with our many many scarves.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- big pinch of black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup light packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup pecans, very coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside. Alternately, grease a loaf pan, line with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper. The parchment paper will make the bread very easy to remove from the pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pinch of pepper. Set aside.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together egg, oil, and pumpkin puree until well combined. Add sugar, cream and vanilla extract and whisk well.
- Pour the wet ingredients all at once into the dry ingredients. Stir until thoroughly combined, and no pockets of flour remain in the batter. Batter will be pretty thick, not pourable.
- Spoon batter into the prepared loaf pan. Top with pecans.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the bread comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm with extra butter and honey.
Sharon M
Your commentary before the recipe mentions orange juice yet it is not mentioned in the ingredient list or procedures. Can you clarify or modify? Love the idea of adding in a hint of orange (juice or even Fiori di Sicilia). Thanks!
Natasha
Oh how delicious! I could quite happily have a slice of this with my cup of coffee right now.
Sarah
I love your recipes and blog Joy! It’s my favorite place to come because I can always trust the food to be fabulous. I’m making this today and adding chocolate chips to the batter.
krismlars
I made this with toasted hazelnuts and the coconut oil and it was absolutely fabulous! I found tons of pumpkin at our neighborhood bazaar so tossed in a bit extra for a super moist bread. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Lind
Just made this yesterday and it came out great. Easy recipe with delicious results.
Lisa
I so wanted to love this recipe especially since the ingredients called for brown sugar and not a lot eggs. However, it fell flat…….it baked perfectly and I followed the directions to the T however, it was not flavorful almost a chalky flavor sad to say. So it seemed like it was missing something. Not sure if it was because of the type of sugar because most pumpkin bread recipes call for white sugar. Thanks for sharing though!
Karen Segal
I am baking this at 350 degrees but I couldn’t find the temperature anywhere.
joythebaker
Yep, 350 is correct. It’s in there, but easy to miss.
Emily
Hi Joy, I just made this pumpkin bread with walnuts – so moist & delicious and PERFECT for fall! It was a hit :) I used the puree from a pumpkin I roasted and it turned out great!
Emily
Thanks for the recipe, Joy! I’ve been making your older vegan recipe for years, but thought I’d give this a try this time. It turned out delicious! I like that it’s a little less sweet than the other recipe. Of course that just means I add more honey butter on top. ????
eldavis2013
I made this pumpkin bread yesterday with some of the last of my frozen roasted pumpkin from the fall … the highlight of my Monday morning has been overhearing my co-wokers in the hallway say, ‘.. and someone made a really great spiced bread for coffee hour today!’ .
Thanks for the delicious recipe :)
E-baker
Sad about this bread! Usually, I find that I can’t go wrong with Joy’s recipes but this one missed the mark for me. I found the bread dry and kind of tough- I barely mixed it to fully incorporated, so it wasn’t an over mixing issue. The flavor was good, but I couldn’t get past the texture. I expect pumpkin bread to have that same soft, moist texture of banana bread and this just didn’t work for me.
Oh well, on to the next!
Mary O'Brien
My pumpkin bread top comes out wet, not dry. What happens to make this happen??
Char
Joy – this recipe would totally work using sweet potato puree in place of pumpkin! I have a similar recipe on my blog and its for “chocolate chip sweet potato muffins”. I originally made the recipe as a loaf but the last time I made it, I baked the batter into muffins, sprinkled some streusel topping on and then gave them a sprinkle of cocoa and powdered sugar after they cooled. I’m a sweet potato fanatic – love them. I confess on my blog that I didn’t realize that people didn’t eat sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays until I was in junior high. It’s true! I also make sweet potato butter which is awesome on biscuits! Viva la Sweet Potato!
Debbie F.
If I were to substitute coconut oil for the butter, is it an even swap?
joythebaker
yes, i believe it would be an even swap.
The Queen of Dreaming
is this even real? *-*
http://justsem.wordpress.com/
keelin2124
Where can I find the pumpkin pie spice recipe? The link on the page is not working for me.
joythebaker
Here is the link for the pumpkin pie spice! https://joythebaker.com/2010/11/pumpkin-pie-spice/
Courtney Soifer
Made this pumpkin bread over the weekend (without nuts) and it was awesome – not too sweet, moist and delicious. Sadly, we just found out that my daughter has an egg, wheat and nut allergy so she couldn’t have any but maybe I can figure out a way to tweak this so she can enjoy some awesome Fall goodness as well :)
ajmilad
This just came out of the oven and my house smells amazing! And I browned the butter, because if brown butter is bad, I don’t wanna be good. Can’t wait to dig in.
Aimee Wimbush-Bourque
Autumn staple for sure!!
Kate {Taffeta and Tulips}
Wow. This looks like a winner. I’ve become a little pumpkin obsessed these days but that’s ok, right? Love the idea of infusing some flavor via the orange juice. I’ll have to give that a try!
http://www.taffetaandtulips.com
cheyenne
delicious! i need to get me some pumpkin asap.
xo, cheyenne
caitlin s
Joy, do you think I could bake this as muffins instead of a loaf? I have in-laws coming tomorrow, and this seems like a great welcome treat!
Nora @ Savory Nothings
Oooh this looks so good I just want to stick my head inside my screen…! And butter always and forever <3
Girl Named Allyn
Coworkers have been pestering me to bring in some pumpkin bread, and I’m thinking that this is a winner. You never steer me wrong.
sharana @ Living The Sweet Life Blog
It’s not fall until there’s pumpkin bread in the picture!! Lovely recipe, as per usual … I feel like my jeans are constantly shrinking … it’s like the closet is out to get me … and scarves, I totally need more scarves!!
Sarah
Not sure if you already know this, but Taylor Swift just shouted you out on Tumblr as her favorite baking blog! That’s rad! Keep up the great work :)
Anna
The more scarves the merrier, really :) This sounds like a perfect pumpkin loaf!
Jayne @ Tenacious Tinkering
“Scarves are blankets we can wear in public.” That should go on a shirt while wearing a hipster infinity scarf, you know, just to be ironic :-P. Wish we can get pumpkin puree as readily here. I’m gonna seek it out and make pumpkin everything!
Sarah | The Sugar Hit
Let me put something out there, cause I know you’re gonna feel me on this, Joy the Baker. Packing brown sugar into a measuring cup, and then plonking it out in that perfectly molded shape, is the most strangely satisfying thing in the world to do.
It just is. And it’s double awesome, because you know you get to eat something delicious soon. AKA this pumpkin bread.
sashahayman
Joy, you are amazing! What are your thoughts on folding in some chocolate chips? Will that do any damage to the way it will bake? Cannot wait to make this!
Sandra
Made this today. Ate this today. Excellent little recipe!!!
Taste of Courage
I’m also in a very pumpkiney mood, and your bread look like my kind of thing!
I’m going to stay with the butter and the eggs, but want to substitute with whole wheat pastry flour. Do I need to increase the liquids? if so, what would be the right quantity? Thanks!
Ella
I have this bread in the oven right now using all whole wheat pastry, a flax egg, coconut oil, and coconut sugar. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Ella
It’s AMAZING and the texture is spot on!
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Taylor
mmm! Perfect way to start off this already-chilly season!
xoxo
Taylor
Marika
From what spices make up the mix of spices for pumpkin pie? Unfortunately, here in Italy there isn’t….
Katy
OMG. Looks AMAZING! I’m totally trying this! :)
http://www.theroadtothere.me/
Phi @ The Sweetphi Blog
Yummy! I spent my weekend baking pumpkin loaves, and still have a tad leftover pumpkin so I’m hightailing it home to make this! Looks incredible! Also, love the parchment paper in the loaf pan..why have I never thought to do that lol!
Diane | An Extraordinary Day
Yummm!! It looks amazing Joy!
I have a bunch of buttercup squash that I was given. Hmmm….do you think it would be okay to use the squash in place of the pumpkin?
Jenny @ The Peachy Pair
I have a can of pumpkin staring at me in the pantry as we speak. Perhaps I could use some of it here!
Theresa Nichols
Great minds think alike!
Was cleaning out the pantry and found some dates all dried out and sad. Added them to my pumpkin walnut bread. Little pieces of chewy, sweetness took it over the top. Loaf barely had time to cool and hubby was asking for another loaf this week.
FoodFlav
These look so fudgy and rich! I love the addition of the Pumpkin, too.
Ella
I appreciate you so, so much for offering a vegan option, Joy. Honestly, thank you! I cannot wait to make this- since becoming vegan I haven’t had a worthwhile pumpkin pastry of any sort. And I LOVE that you put in some OJ!
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Sini | My Blue&White Kitchen
I’ll tell you something…I’ve never ever had pumpkin bread. Can you believe that? That’s probably the destiny of children growing up outside the U.S.. However, now that I’m all grown up and all I can change that. I can bake a loaf of pumpkin bread with walnuts.
This looks great, Joy!
shelly
I love the idea of adding a little pepper, its sort of makes it chai-y.
Side bar: do the leaves change in New Orleans? I’m always curious to know because I’ve lived in south florida where they decidedly do not change, Ohio where they definteily do (and are changing right now) and Houston where some did some didnt, but mostly they didnt.
Rebecca Jeffries-Hyman
In answer to your leaf question, not really. With very few exceptions, the trees that grow around here stay green until it gets really cold (like that ever happens) and then we get bare branches. I seriously don’t mind the lack of color because this time of year we get FESTIVALS!!
Alessandra // the foodie teen
pumpkin spice-ing everything is just inevitable at this time of year – i just made/posted/ate the whole batch of pumpkin spice & maple macaroons and now i’m hooked! i love pumpkin bread and the addition of pepper sounds super intriguing and delicious.
also, thank you thank you thank you for the book! i just got my copy and i’ve spent the last two hours cuddled up with a mug of tea poring over it (and bookmarking just about every page!) – it’s absolutely stunning! you should be seriously proud of yourself; it’s an absolute piece of art! ps – i seriously loved the sprinkles & vanilla touch!
Marzia @ Little Spice Jar
I have definitely got to try this recipe soon! I’ve got a very similar recipe for pumpkin bread + pumpkin muffins, so I know this is going to be fabbbulous!
P.S. I’ve also got a massive collection of scarves. I say they’re like shoes, a girl can never have too many.
Paulette
Between pumpkin bread and apple pie I have gained three pounds last week and now this looks so good and I just may try it, what’s another two pounds. Paulette
Cait
If you use pre-grated nutmeg (in the little container) is the measurement the same?
joythebaker
Sure! Maybe even just a tad bit more.
Averie @ Averie Cooks
Looks like a perfect loaf! And my favorite pumpkin quickbread base recipe that I use for snack cakes, muffins, loaves, is accidentally vegan. Love your recipe and that it can be adapted. Coconut oil and pumpkin is one of my faves, too :)
joythebaker
you’re the queen of all things pumpkin! your new book is lovely! i have my eyes on the pumpkin pretzels.
Ellen
So now that you are in New Orleans making magical pumpkin goodness…pumpkin beignets? Do you take requests?;)
joythebaker
i like the way you think!
Belinda Lo (Moonblush Baker)
Oh I am so going to try this pumpkin bread! It is truly the taste of Autumn all in one slice. The fact is vegan is bonus for those like me who forget to buy eggs…
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
your vegan pumpkin bread in your cookbook is my fav. if this is half as good I’ll be over the moon!