It’s about the middle of September that we all sort of come to grips with the fact that summer is over and it’s not coming back anytime soon. So, it’s about this time,I start to embrace the whole pumpkin spice thing. I can wait until October until I have a pumpkin spice latte, if I’m going to have one, but pumpkin bread is a different story. There’s something sort of nice about the windows open on a sunny September day and the scent of pumpkin bread, baking in the oven. You could get a mix. I think Kroger, Pillsbury, oh, and I think Williams Sonoma might have one too or at least they used to. Or you could buy a can of canned pumpkin (Kroger and Libby’s seem to be the FAVS) and make your own. You most likely have everything on hand that you need so why not give it a try? The recipe I make is a very standard recipe. The only thing that may be a little different than others out there, is that I use coconut oil. I melt it on top of the stove in a little sauce pan. You could use your own preferred cooking oil of choice but more and more, when I’m baking, I melt coconut oil and use it in the same equivalent in a recipe as other oils used for cooking. (Consider if coconut would ’compliement‘ the flavor of what you are baking. I use it for my Banana Bread and and Pumpkin Bread for sure. Use your own good judgement on this decision.)
The spices/additional flavors used are standard in most Pumpkin Bread recipes; cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. I like to add nuts that’s an optional ingredient. Here you go…
Basic Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and butter 1 basic loaf pan.
Ingredients
-1 3/4 cup unbleached flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1/4 ground cloves
-1 cup pumpkin puree’ (I like Libby’s or Kroger Private Selection/Simple Truth)
-1/2 cup granulated cane sugar
-1/3 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup coconut oil melted In small saucepan on stove top
-2 large eggs
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla
-1/4 cup milk
-1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Method
-Measure and whisk all dry ingredients, set aside.
-Measure and whisk all wet ingredients.
-Fold dry ingredients into wet and just stir until mixed. Do not over blend.
-Fold in nuts if adding.
-Pour batter into buttered loaf pan & smooth w/spatula.
-Bake for 50 minutes in pre-heated oven or until toothpick inserted in center, comes out clean.
-Remove pan from oven, place on rack, let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan onto rack.
-Let completely cool before slicing & serving…This freezes well, but wait until cool.
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