Pumpkin Christmas Bread
mrslarkin
Photo by James Ransom
- Serves
- 4 to 8
- Prep Time
- 15 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 Hour 5 Minutes
We don’t fuss with fancy breakfasts on Christmas. After all, there are more important jobs to attend to that morning, like opening presents. So at our house, we always have this pumpkin bread to nosh on. I’ve adapted this recipe from one I received from my friend Heather. The original made 3 loaves. I adjusted the quantities and spices to suit my taste and one loaf pan. Fair warning, the bread is highly addictive. It’s perfect spread with softened butter, or some fig jam, or softened cream cheese, or just plain nekkid.
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 10 ounce pumpkin purée (just over a cup-full if you're measuring and not weighing)
- 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans or walnuts, optional
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Featured Video
Pumpkin Christmas Bread
Yes, there are more ways to use up that pumpkin purée than just pies whenever Thanksgiving rolls around. Time to think outside of the box. If you're looking for an easy, satisfying bread recipe that will please family and friends for the holidays or just whenever you want your kitchen to smell like homemade bread, this is for you. It's an eggless (!), dairyless (!) loaf cake for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, dessert... Yep, whenever the mood strikes, whatever time of day, whatever kind of day you're having, you'll turn to this comforting bread. And to make it, all you have to do is dump, stir, bake. A combination of ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg will warm you up and keep you satiated, but feel free to experiment with your favorite spices. Just keep in mind as you're mixing that the batter will be very thick, and you may have doubts about what you're doing at that point, but believe in yourself and bake on.
In her testing notes, aargersi called this pumpkin bread "magic"—and she's right. It's soft, it's tender, it's sweet, it's spicy, it's got height, it's got everything we want in a loaf cake. It's so good that two Food52-ers specifically recommended it. Plus, it makes a great edible gift—it is both portable and scalable. Just make sure to make an extra (or two!) for yourself. You can also make it ahead of time and freeze if you'd like. Simply let the loaf defrost at room temperature before digging in.
Directions
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 325°F. Spray one large (about 9-by-5-inch) loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Step 2
In a large bowl, mix the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin purée, pecans, if using, and oil.
- Step 3
Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture and stir well until smooth. (It's a thick batter!) Spoon into the prepared pan pan and lightly smooth out the top with a spatula.
- Step 4
Bake for about 1 hours and 15 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out dry and clean. Let cool. It'll seem like the loaf doesn't want to come out; just give it a few good slaps on the bottom of the pan, and it'll come right out.
- Step 5
If you'd like to make three large loaves, triple the ingredients, use a 29-ounce can of pumpkin purée, and mix in a great big bowl. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. This triple recipe can make 7 mini loaves (6-by-3-inch mini loaf pans). Bake the mini loaves for 1 hour.