Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Pumpkin Bread


You know it's officially fall when everything includes pumpkin!! Last weekend I had a craving for pumpkin bread, and I also needed to do some baking for birthday gifts and thank you gifts to friends :)

To my surprise, when I went to search through my recipes, I didn't have a pumpkin bread recipe yet, and I'm so glad I found this one. It's delicious, moist, and flavorful! Next time, I will decrease the sugar amount a bit because it was a little too sweet for me. I also added walnuts and pecans (1/2 and 1/2) which was a great idea to add a variety of crunch! Topped with a thin layer of butter, these pumpkin bread slices were the perfect fall snack!


Pumpkin Bread
Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Yields: 2 8x4 loaves
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

3-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup vegetable oil
2-2/3 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 cups (15 ounces) canned pumpkin
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (I used half a cup of each)


Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two 8½x4½-inch loaf pans.

2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil and sugar until combined. Add the eggs, pumpkin, water and vanilla and whisk until thoroughly combined and smooth. Add the dry ingredients and mix gently until combined. Using a large spoon or spatula, stir in the nuts.

4. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 60 to 80 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

5. Remove the bread from the oven and place the pans on a cooling rack. Once the breads are completely cool, turn out of the pans. You can serve immediately or, for even better flavor and moistness, wrap the loaves in plastic wrap and store at room temperature overnight.