This pumpkin bread is a great old Maine recipe, moist and spicy. The bread actually tastes even better the day after it is baked. It’s easy to make and perfect for holiday gift-giving!
When fall is in the air, can't you just smell a delicious loaf of freshly baked pumpkin bread? Or is that just those of us who dream about pumpkin bread all day? No matter.
Either way, moist and flavorful pumpkin bread is the perfect way to use up the cans of pumpkin puree you stocked up on at the first sign of autumn. And what better recipe to use than this Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread? It's so beloved by members of the Cookdap community, they have rated it 5 stars over 8,000 times.
How to Make Pumpkin Bread
The great news is that pumpkin bread is actually incredibly easy to make. You don't even need an electric mixer (though, of course it helps). You'll find the full, step-by-step recipe below — but here's a brief overview of what you can expect when you make homemade pumpkin bread:
- Simply combine your wet ingredients, then combine your dry ingredients, then combine them all together.
- Pour into two loaf pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
The best part about this recipe is that it makes two loaves, so you can have one for now and one for later — or one for gifting!
Should You Use Canned or Fresh Pumpkin for Pumpkin Bread?
This recipe calls for canned pumpkin puree (make sure it’s plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling), which is quicker and easier than using fresh pumpkin. But, if you are feeling ambitious and want to use fresh pumpkin, follow this recipe to make pumpkin puree from scratch. A 1 ½-pound sugar pumpkin will make about 2 cups of mashed pumpkin, which is the same as a 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree.
How to Know When Pumpkin Bread Is Done
Pumpkin bread is pretty dense, so it might be hard to know when it's cooked all the way through (and the last thing you want is to serve up a bread that's raw in the middle).
So, to know when pumpkin bread is done, look for the crack on the top of the bread, which is a tell-tale sign it's either done or close to being done. Then stick a skewer or toothpick into the center of the bread. If it comes out clean, it's ready to come out of the oven. If not, leave it to bake for a few more minutes, then check again with a clean toothpick.
How to Remove Pumpkin Bread From the Loaf Pan
Sometimes removing quick breads from their loaf pan is a tricky task. So, before you add the batter, make sure you thoroughly grease the pan.
Then, after you've let the bread cool for about 10 minutes (or until you can handle the pan), run a knife along the edges of the bread. Gently shake the pan until the bread comes loose and you can turn it out onto a wire rack or plate. Then, let the bread continue to cool.
You may be tempted to cut right into the bread, but you should let it cool completely before slicing into it.
Pumpkin Bread Mistakes
Pumpkin bread may be an easy quick bread to make, but sometimes recipes don't always turn out as planned. If you're having one of these common mistakes, here's how to fix it:
- Tough Bread: If you have a tough bread instead of a soft, cake-like texture, you're probably overmixing your batter. When making quick breads, you don't want to mix too much or else the gluten development will cause your bread to change in texture. Mix your ingredients until they are just combined — you should still have some lumps in the batter.
- Dry bread: Dry pumpkin bread is such a disappointment. To avoid dry, crumbly bread, try to keep your batter moist. Either do this by using less flour or adding more liquid — but don't add more oil. Instead, try adding orange juice or even bourbon to get some liquid into the batter.
How to Store Pumpkin Bread
Wait until the bread is completely cool, then wrap it in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Store it in a cool, dry place for up to four days, or in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Cookdap Community Tips and Praise
“Awesome recipe!! Very easy to make. Just put in a bowl and use your hand or stand mixer. That simple. I just made it this morning and I tried it four hours later. Wonderful!!! Can’t wait till tomorrow, I don’t know how it can taste any better” says KIMMIE5474.
“I can’t even begin to describe this wonderful, cozy, comforting bread! There are no words! I made it exactly as stated and it was perfect!! End of story, no substitutions needed. It’s like pumpkin pie for breakfast,” raves Pamela Frechette.
“Our go-to recipe for pumpkin bread. Our family loves it — such a great, rich flavor and a good use for fresh pureed pumpkin,” according to NCDaisy.
Ingredients
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup water
- 3 cups white sugar
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Directions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9×5-inch loaf pans.
Step 2
Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger together in a large bowl.
Step 3
Mix pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, and sugar in a separate bowl until well blended.
Step 4
Stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until just blended.
Step 5
Pour batter into the prepared pans.
Step 6
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
Step 7
Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
Nutrition Facts | |
---|---|
Servings Per Recipe 24 | |
Calories 263 | |
% Daily Value * | |
Total Fat10g | 13% |
Saturated Fat2g | 8% |
Cholesterol31mg | 10% |
Sodium305mg | 13% |
Total Carbohydrate41g | 15% |
Dietary Fiber1g | 4% |
Total Sugars26g | |
Protein3g | |
Vitamin C1mg | 4% |
Calcium14mg | 1% |
Iron1mg | 7% |
Potassium69mg | 1% |
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient.If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.
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source by allrecipe
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- by: Melissa Avery
- 24 years ago
Great recipe…makes a lot of bread! My eight year-old niece loved it! Tastes great! I can’t make this bread fast enough to keep up with demand! It freezes really well and is so simple to make. Great for gifts around the holidays. I also add chopped walnut to some, dried cranberries to others. Served this at my holiday tea and it was the hit of the party! Everyone wanted the recipe! Thanks again!
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- by: Melissa Avery
- 24 years ago
Great recipe…makes a lot of bread! My eight year-old niece loved it! Tastes great! I can’t make this bread fast enough to keep up with demand! It freezes really well and is so simple to make. Great for gifts around the holidays. I also add chopped walnut to some, dried cranberries to others. Served this at my holiday tea and it was the hit of the party! Everyone wanted the recipe! Thanks again!
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- by: Cookdap Member
- 24 years ago
I have never liked pumpkin bread, but my family does so I decided to try this recipe. Not only did I finish off a small loaf myself, after we took some into our respective offices, I ended up having to make over 30 mini loaves for Christmas. Everyone RAVED about it. Thank you…I think 🙂
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- by: Cookdap Member
- 24 years ago
This is the first pumpkin bread I have ever made and it will be the only recipe I will ever use. It was perfect! I made mini loafs to put in goody baskets for our family (which is huge) and everyone loved it. It is the perfect texture and taste, it melts in your mouth. I’m not waiting for the holidays to come around again before I make this wonderful bread. Thank you!
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- by: HEATHERHIPPO
- 23 years ago
This is the best pumpkin bread I have ever had! Everyone in my family loved it, even my 5 year old picky eater. Definite 5 star recipe!
*Since writing the above in 2001 I wanted to add more. Now nearly 4 years later this is still one of my favorite recipes. In fact, I’m making it again right now as I type! I like to make muffins with the recipe, even though it’s more time consuming than loaves. (It takes about 30 minutes baking time for regular size muffins) I also like to mix finely chopped pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon together and sprinkle it on the tops of the muffins before baking. It’s so good!
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- by: HEATHERHIPPO
- 23 years ago
This is the best pumpkin bread I have ever had! Everyone in my family loved it, even my 5 year old picky eater. Definite 5 star recipe!
*Since writing the above in 2001 I wanted to add more. Now nearly 4 years later this is still one of my favorite recipes. In fact, I’m making it again right now as I type! I like to make muffins with the recipe, even though it’s more time consuming than loaves. (It takes about 30 minutes baking time for regular size muffins) I also like to mix finely chopped pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon together and sprinkle it on the tops of the muffins before baking. It’s so good!
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- by: Cookdap Member
- 23 years ago
A delicious and moist pumpkin bread that I will always make from now on. I used a bundt pan lightly sprayed with Pam for 2/3 of the batter and made a small loaf with the rest. It was very festive looking when made in the bundt pan and feed alot of people at work. I only needed to bake for 40 minutes, so test often.
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- by: Mrs. Kilo Delta
- 23 years ago
I love this pumpkin bread! It makes three loaves which is great to keep one and give out two to friends. Everybody raved about it; it is so sweet with spices, and incredibly moist and tender. It actually replaces my grandma’s banana bread as my favorite holiday bread!
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- by: Mrs. Kilo Delta
- 23 years ago
I love this pumpkin bread! It makes three loaves which is great to keep one and give out two to friends. Everybody raved about it; it is so sweet with spices, and incredibly moist and tender. It actually replaces my grandma’s banana bread as my favorite holiday bread!
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- by: SBDEVENEY
- 23 years ago
Just took it out of the oven and my 3-yr old ate *2* pieces! This recipe is fantastic! Just told all my friends about it too! I also added 2 tsp vanilla……just for extra warmth and richness…I add vanilla to just about every dessert, whether it calls for it or not! Thanks so much!!! – Sharon
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- by: SBDEVENEY
- 23 years ago
Just took it out of the oven and my 3-yr old ate *2* pieces! This recipe is fantastic! Just told all my friends about it too! I also added 2 tsp vanilla……just for extra warmth and richness…I add vanilla to just about every dessert, whether it calls for it or not! Thanks so much!!! – Sharon
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- by: Cookdap Member
- 23 years ago
An excellent recipe! All the spices give it a really nice, autumny flavor. It’s pretty easy to make, but the first time I didn’t have the pan sizes recommended. I used one bigger pan, and that was hard because the middle took a LONG time to finish and by then the ends were a little hard. So I definitely recommend making several smaller loaves, but this bread is terrific!
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- by: WENDY55
- 23 years ago
This was probably the best pumpkin bread recipe I’ve ever tried! It had just the right amount of spices to compliment the pumpkin. You were right about it being better the next day. Actually, it still tasted fresh and moist after several days. Thanks so much for a recipe I will use often!
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- by: WENDY55
- 23 years ago
This was probably the best pumpkin bread recipe I’ve ever tried! It had just the right amount of spices to compliment the pumpkin. You were right about it being better the next day. Actually, it still tasted fresh and moist after several days. Thanks so much for a recipe I will use often!
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- by: HEATHERFEATHER
- 23 years ago
This was very good. It is not overly spiced and is quite moist. I baked this recipe in two regular size loaf pans and it turned out fine, although cooked longer (1 hour 20 minutes was the total time baking). I have another recipe that is even better, but this is still a very good recipe.
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- by: HEATHERFEATHER
- 23 years ago
This was very good. It is not overly spiced and is quite moist. I baked this recipe in two regular size loaf pans and it turned out fine, although cooked longer (1 hour 20 minutes was the total time baking). I have another recipe that is even better, but this is still a very good recipe.
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- by: Clare West
- 23 years ago
To think I almost wrote a bad review of this bread…when it first came out of the oven it tasted blad to me, although it smelled great, so I left it on the counter over night becasue everyone said it tasted better the next day. I tasted it this morning, and it really did! Nobody was kidding…i guess sitting brings it to potential flavor…it was GONE for breakfast. Wonderful gift idea because it keeps!
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- by: Clare West
- 23 years ago
To think I almost wrote a bad review of this bread…when it first came out of the oven it tasted blad to me, although it smelled great, so I left it on the counter over night becasue everyone said it tasted better the next day. I tasted it this morning, and it really did! Nobody was kidding…i guess sitting brings it to potential flavor…it was GONE for breakfast. Wonderful gift idea because it keeps!
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