The Ultimate Pumpkin Bread Recipe

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If Starbucks could make pumpkin bread this good I might actually support them. Then again, they can't. This pumpkin bread recipe made from fresh pumpkin is silly easy and the results will shock you seeing that it only uses a handful of everyday ingredients.

The magic lies in the homemade pumpkin puree free of any commercial nastiness. What you get is a super moist pumpkin loaf you would want to eat from morning till night all through autumn and beyond.

Jump to:

• Ingredients needed
• How to make it
• Variations
• How to make it gluten-free
• How to make it vegan
• Serving suggestions
• Frequently asked questions
• Useful equipment for this recipe
• Other recipes you might like
• The Ultimate Pumpkin Bread Recipe
• Nutrition Facts
• Comments

There's not much to it when making a pumpkin loaf. Some people might think there is some sort of secret to making a moist pumpkin bread. Not really.

Just a bit of professional knowledge and know-how will make this one of the best and easiest bakes you'll ever attempt.

Plus, I'll give you ideas on how to add things like chocolate chips, dried fruit, cream cheese and how to make it vegan or gluten-free.

Ingredients needed

You probably have them all in your pantry already.

• Pumpkin puree - Homemade pumpkin puree is way better than store-bought. Go the extra mile and make your own. If you have laziness syndrome then you could be forgiven for using a tin of Libby's pumpkin puree.
• Plain flour - Perfect for baking with less gluten than bread flour.
• Oil - Plain canola oil.
• Sugar - I used brown sugar but plain white sugar is also fine.
• Baking powder and baking soda - The recipe uses both.
• Salt - Regular fine sea salt. Don't bake anything without it.

How to make it

In a few easy steps you'll have the best autumn bread right in front of your very own eyes and mouth hole.

1. Line a loaf pan or any other baking pan with greased parchment paper. I use both because it never sticks. I suggest you try it.
2. Turn the oven to 170°C or 338°F.
3. Mix the wet ingredients until homogenous.
4. Sieve all the dry ingredients through a fine-mesh strainer or drum sieve, and fold it into the wet ingredients until you have an evenly distributed smooth batter. Don't over-mix.
5. Pour the bread batter into the tin and bake for about 45 minutes or until a kitchen thermometer reads 90°C or 194°F when stuck into the centre of the bread. Alternatively use the stone age method of sticking a wooden or metal skewer into the middle. When it comes out clean, Bad boy is cooked.
6. Let it cool down slightly before carefully removing it from the baking form and cooling down completely on a wire rack.
7. Only slice when cooled down completely.

Variations

Be as creative as you like and try the following:

• Banana pumpkin bread - You can substitute a ⅓ of the pumpkin puree for banana puree and bake as instructed.
• Chocolate chip pumpkin bread - Add some chocolate chips of your choice to the batter before baking. I like dark chocolate chips.
• Pumpkin muffins - The same batter can be used to bake muffins in a muffin tin.
• Streusel topping - Sprinkle with a streusel topping just before baking. To make a streusel mix together 75g flour, 75g brown sugar, 25g melted butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 50g chopped pecan nuts. Then sprinkle on top just before baking.
• Dried fruit and nuts - You can add in any chopped nuts or dried fruit like raisins, apricots, cherries, cranberries, chopped dates or prunes. Simply add to the batter before baking.
• Spice - Add pumpkin pie spice or make your own mix by using ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
• Citrus and ginger - Add orange zest or dried powdered orange peel. If you like gingerbread then add some grated fresh ginger to the wet mix or ground ginger to the dry ingredients.

How to make it gluten-free

Note that results will be different than with regular flour.

Use gluten-free cake flour instead of regular flour and make sure your baking powder and soda are also free of additives that may contain traces of gluten.

Alternatively, you can use a fine nut flour like almond or pumpkin seed flour. It will be a much denser type of bread as the nuts does not have the same binding properties as flour does.

I never recommend doing these conversations but, it is an idea for you to work with if you wish to explore that realm.

How to make it vegan

• Replace the egg with 30g linseeds(flaxseed flour) soaked in 60g water for 30 minutes.

The outcome will be different than with regular eggs as flax does not have the binding qualities of egg.

Add another 60g of flour to make up some of the losses.

Serving suggestions

You'll be happy to know that the sugar content in this pumpkin bread can be altered to your own personal taste without altering the final texture.

My favourite way to have this is to spread some pumpkin cream cheese spread on it with some freshly brewed coffee.

That means that you can make it completely for savoury dishes or keep it as is and use it as a stand-alone autumn snack.

It makes amazing sweet french toast and when you minimise the sugar it's delicious with home-cured salmon for breakfast.

Use it as a vehicle for delicious dips like pea and feta, Moroccan eggplant, creamed spinach or even smokey chipotle guacamole.

Frequently asked questions

Useful equipment for this recipe

Other recipes you might like

If you like home baking or have a soft spot for pumpkin then you will find the following recipes useful:

• The best carrot cake in the world - The Queen and Elton John both had the pleasure of having this when I worked in London.
• Borodinsky rye bread - One of the most popular recipes on this site and true keeper for bread lovers.
• Pumpkin cake - Packed with pumpkin in all forms and based on my famous carrot cake recipe.
• Roasted pumpkin salad - Perfect for autumn lunches and light dinner.
• Cream cheese pumpkin spread - Used in my pumpkin cake recipe but just as delicious on this pumpkin bread.
• Easy way to use up pumpkin trim - Be mindful, resourceful and clever. Every little helps to make the world a better place.

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