When September arrives, I have a sudden desire to prepare every fast bread recipe under the sun. Some of my favorites include banana bread, apple cinnamon bread, and this orange beauty: the BEST pumpkin bread I've ever tasted.
This is a popular pumpkin bread recipe since each slice is really moist and the preparation is simple. There are no dried crumbs here! This pumpkin bread is also bursting with pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavor. This is really good.
It took me 6 or 7 tries to perfect this pumpkin bread recipe. After many sunken, soggy, and flavorless loaves, I finally figured out what ingredients to use and how much of each, and the end result is pumpkin nirvana. The recipe is very similar to these pumpkin muffins.
Pumpkin: This dish contains a lot of pumpkin since it contributes both taste and moisture. I always use canned pumpkin while baking, but homemade pumpkin puree works just as well.
If you want to create pumpkin puree, here's how. Make sure to wipe your homemade pumpkin puree to remove excess moisture. Simply measure your homemade pumpkin puree and squeeze off excess moisture with a paper towel.
Oil: Provides great wetness and lightens the crumb. The ideal option is vegetable oil, but you can also use melted coconut oil.
Favorite autumn spices: Spices include cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. These four spices enhance the pumpkin flavor perfectly (and are frequently used in pumpkin pie and other pumpkin recipes). You might also use pumpkin pie spice; see my recipe note below.
Orange Juice: I understand that orange juice seems unusual here, but don't be concerned. This bread will not taste like oranges. I use orange juice since a little liquid prevents the bread from tasting too dense.