Pumpkin Bread

Only a few days into September and I was frantically trying to buy all of the canned pumpkin purée to test all the recipes with pumpkin. I was so looking forward to baking all things pumpkin: bread, muffins, cookies, cakes, cupcakes. I am obsessed and I don't care who knows it! It has a very subtle flavor, but packs a ridiculous amount of nutrition. The seeds of a pumpkin are particularly healthy, loaded with zinc, manganese, iron, vitamin K, copper, and more. Pumpkin is essentially one of the best foods out there, no wonder my entire Instagram feed is filled with gorgeous orange food photos. Needless to say, I had to make a pumpkin bread, because it's the season and pumpkin bread is quite delicious.

Pumpkin bread can be made a whole slew of different ways: paleo, dairy free, vegan, protein-packed, with chocolate chips, nuts, toasted pumpkin seeds on top. The combinations for pumpkin bread are truly endless, and they're all so tasty.  What I love about making pumpkin bread is that it all bakes in just one pan: a loaf pan. It pops right out of the pan when cooled, easily sliced, and a perfect treat for breakfast, brunch, a snack, or dessert with a little ice cream. This pumpkin bread would be great made into bars with a streusel on top (my next move for suuuure), in or can be poured into a muffin tin to bake up gorgeous breakfast muffins. I'll leave that up to you, but for now, this pumpkin bread is perfect the way it is.

Pumpkin Bread Ingredients:

• Flour: this particular recipe calls for all purpose flour and, yes, in grams. Trust me, go get a kitchen scale. For those who don't, the measurement is just around 1 1/2 cups.
• Sugar: I employ the help of cane sugar and light brown sugar. The brown sugar helps to keep the bread moist with a spongey texture.
• Sour Cream: the addition of sour cream to baked goods adds moisture, taste, and texture.
• Oil: a little oil goes a long way here, and certainly aids with moisture.
• Eggs: these eggs should be room temperature to help with the rise in the loaf.
• Baking soda and powder: both work well together for the perfect rise and texture.
• Pumpkin pie spice and purée: do NOT buy pumpkin pie filling, only the purée. Also, you can make your own pumpkin pie spice with ginger, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and a touch of allspice.

Pumpkin Bread Baking Tips:

• Mix in the flour a little at a time when combining the wet and dry ingredients. The helps to prevent over-mixing and getting flour everywhere in the kitchen.
• Tap the loaf pan on the counter three times to let any air out of the batter before baking.
• Resist the urge to open the oven as the bread bakes. Opening the air will let a burst of cool air in and we want to make sure we trap the warmth in the oven as much as we can!
• Testing when the bread is done does not mean a super clean toothpick. In fact, there should be some crumbs as this is a good indication that the texture is moist and not over-baked or dry.

I promise once you make this pumpkin bread once you won't stop making it. I have another version coming soon that incorporates chocolate chunk pieces and is a paleo-friendly version. Stay tuned, and if you're subscribed you will be the first to know when it comes on here!  I hope you enjoy making this delicious pumpkin bread as much as I do, because it's just so darn good!