Laura and I have referred frequently to certain foods that “only our mom makes right.” Well, the longer I cook, the more things I find that only *I* make the way I really like them! This pumpkin bread recipe is one of my all-time favorites. I got the “bones” of this recipe from my mother-in-law years ago, but I’ve tweaked and adjusted and massaged it so much that it really is MY recipe at this point.
This recipe is huge. It makes 5 regular sized loaves of pumpkin bread. It barely fit into my 5 qt. kitchenaid mixer bowl. If I ran the mixer on the lowest speed, nothing jumped out; by the time everything was added, there was about 1/4″ of space between the batter and the top of the bowl. I have a 6 qt. mixer now, so it fits a bit better. There is no reason this bread needs to be made in the mixer. Stirring it up in a huge tupperware bowl or an oversized mixing bowl also works just fine. (I use my mixer because I am quite Lazy.) If you don’t want to end up with five loaves of pumpkin bread, you can easily cut this recipe in half and make two extra large loaves.
I TRY to wrap and freeze a couple of loaves so I always have something in the freezer for unexpected guests, but sometimes I don’t get to the bread before it’s all been devoured. (Those male teenaged locusts at my house make every freezing endeavor a race, doncha know!)
Perfect Pumpkin Bread
- 1 1/3 c. vegetable oil
- 5 c. sugar
- 8 eggs
- 1 large can of pumpking (29 oz. If you are halving this recipe, use a 1 pound can. Rule of thumb is that 2 c. pumpkin=1 pound.)
- 1 1/3 c. water
- 4 1/2 c. flour
- 2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
- 4 t. baking soda
- 3 t. salt
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1 t. ground cardamom (optional, but try it–it’s really tasty!)
- 2 t. ground cloves
- 2 t. ground cinnamon
- 1 t. ground allspice
- 2 c. raisins (you can also try 1 c. raisins and 1 c. cranberries)
- 2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts (you can use either nut, but which nut you use will make a difference in the final result.)
Mix together all the liquid-y ingredients and pumpkin. Mix in spices, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Stir in flours and make sure there are no pockets of flour that don’t get mixed in. Add nuts and raisins last. (Note: you can omit the nuts if there is a nut allergy problem. If you also omit the raisins, you probably need to add a little extra flour. If you omit both nuts and raisins, you will probably end up with four loaves instead of five.)
Pour into five greased loaf pans and bake at 325° for approximately 1 hr. and 15 minutes. Bread is done when the toothpick or skewer comes out clean. Don’t overbake. If you use smaller pans, the loaves will bake faster.
As always, the best moment to eat this bread is immediately after it gets out of the oven! This makes a great breakfast food, especially when topped with a slice of sharp cheddar. This is also a nice guest food to serve with a cup of coffee at any time.
Wrap this bread in foil and then in plastic to freeze. This is a great “being prepared” food to have when you need something at the drop of a hat.
BK
8 Comments
September 26, 2006 at 8:59 am
I have fresh pumpkin, can I use it in this recipe & if so, how?
September 26, 2006 at 2:53 pm
Ally, I’ve never used fresh pumpkin in this recipe, so I can’t say with assurance that this will work. Here’s what *I* would do. First of all, I would definitely cut the recipe in half just in case it DOESN’T work out.
I’d cook the pumpkin unti it was totally soft and I’d run it through a blender so it didn’t have any chunks or strings in it. Then I’d simmer it some more to cook some of the liquid off. It seems to me that fresh pumpkin is pretty watery and what you get in the can is NOT. After you cook it down quite a bit (without burning it of course) measure out two liquid cups to make up the 1 pound can worth of pumpkin. (That’s how much I’d add if I was halving the recipe.)
Let me know how this turns out. If it falls or turns out too flat, it might need less liquid or more flour in it to compensate for the liquid in the fresh pumpkin. I wish I had time to do this myself today, but sadly I don’t.
Barb
October 5, 2006 at 12:22 pm
The easiest wa I’ve found to cook pumpkin/squash for pies, breads and such is to put half a seeded pumpkin in the microwave for about 15 minutes. Once cool it scoops out of the shell easil with a big spoon and can be thouroughl pureed with a hand mixer. The beaters pick up whatever large fibers there might be. We have a squash here in Costa Rica that volunteers well, and since I give the chickens the seeds, the’ve volunteered all over the farm. Have come up with lots of uses. The Ticos (locals)use them a lot in stews and soups.
October 5, 2006 at 12:24 pm
P.S. the fresh pumpkin tends to have less liquid than canned rather than more when cooked this wa .
October 5, 2006 at 12:38 pm
Mary, thanks so much for jumping in on this topic. I really appreciate it! I’m going to try the microwave method this year. It sound very easy.
Barb
November 19, 2006 at 12:32 am
Equally easy is to cut slits about an inch apart in the pumpkins and set in water in a pie pan. Bake until a fork goes in easily. This eliminates scraping the seeds out ahead of time. Let cool and the skin cuts off easily. I cut it into chunks and scrape away the seeds, putting rest into the blender or food processer.
If you use the small “sugar pumpkins” or “pie pumpkins” the result should be quite dense and not nearly as watery. If necessary, let set and then pour off the liquids left as it sets.
The lady at the pumpkin patch in Half Moon Bay said to pick pumpkins with either white skin or very deep colored skin. Either one produces lovely,sweet,deep colored pumpkin. It stores very well in the freezer for a year. Each small freezer bag nicely holds two cups which make a pie.
Joan
October 27, 2007 at 4:04 am
i have used fresh pumpkin to make pumpkin bread
in fact i prefer it.just make sure the pumpkin is cooked nice and tender. and i also like to use it in pie
December 1, 2008 at 6:06 am
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