Homemade Pumpkin Bread
DH doesn’t like pumpkin. Nothing pumpkin. No pumpkin pie. No pumpkin cake. No pumpkin lattes. No pumpkin ravioli. No pumpkin bread. No pumpkin anything…
Until this entered his life, that is.
He ate 2 loaves single-handedly… in 2 days.
DH likes my pumpkin bread. He still won’t eat pies, cakes, muffins, or anything else that involves a pumpkin – but this, he inhales. Which was unfortunate for everyone else in the house who would have liked some pumpkin bread.
I’ll have to make more.
This bread is soft, light, moist, flavorful, just sweet enough and so delicious it needs no icing.
But, of course, I add icing because… Pumpkin Bread & Cream Cheese Icing is like… “Boom.”
Ya’ know?
It’s great for dessert. It’s great for afternoon tea.
My favorite way to eat this pumpkin bread is first thing in the morning (after milking the cow) with my coffee.
OH, BABY. “YES, PLEASE!”
While we were having our annual baking of all things pumpkin-y we decided to turn it into a little pumpkin contest.
Every blog, every where, since September 1 has been ranting and raving about homemade pumpkin puree. They say it’s the best. They say it’s the bomb. They say not to make anything pumpkin for the rest of your life unless you make your own pumpkin puree.
What?
Well, maybe they’re right?
Only one way to find out.
We grew our own pumpkins this year. Go here to see it.
We harvested and washed and baked and pureed them ourselves. Go here to see that.
Now that we have some Homemade pumpkin puree let’s settle this.
Homemade pumpkin puree against the stuff in the can.
I bought a can of pumpkin from the tiny, country store that exists in my little tiny town.
AND the battle was ON
Everything in the recipe was identical except for the pumpkin origins.
Ingredients:
- Butter
- Coconut Oil
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Salt
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Flour
- Water
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Pumpkin
I started by melting the butter & coconut oil. I added the sugar & eggs & mixed well.
Then I mixed in the pumpkin. You can see the store bought (closest to you) is a darker color and stiffer. My homemade puree is smoother and a brighter color. Since my pumpkin puree was living in my yard a few days ago in the form of a pumpkin, I am not surprised that it is a brighter color.
Typically, fresher and healthier foods will have more color (think about the color of farm fresh egg yolks and the color of fresh, raw butter – very bright). Go here to read more about eggs and here to read about raw butter.
The next batch of ingredients to go into the bowls were: cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Once I gave that a twirl I added the flour (organic of course). Go here to hear my soap box display on flour. 
After adding the flour you’ll want to mix it just enough to get in combined (like in the above picture) and stop to add the water.
After adding the water mix it until it’s combined and fold in some nuts if you are like me.
If you ask me, everything is better with nuts.
Pour into greased loaf pans & bake. (Tip: a slip of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan is really helpful). 
When the bread came out of the oven we could hardly wait to taste it.
This was a blind taste-test. I was the only one who know which bread was made with the homemade pumpkin puree.
First, I have to be honest, I won’t lie to you. The difference in the 2 breads was very subtle.
BUT, There was a difference.
Everyone thought the Pumpkin Bread made with the pumpkin puree tasted “sweeter” or “more flavorful.”
I agree. It was fresher, sweeter, more pumpkin-y… it is better.
The difference wasn’t HUGE in the pumpkin bread, but there are A LOT of ingredients in pumpkin bread and not very much pumpkin.
I Suspect that the fresh pumpkin will really outshine the competition in a dish that is MOSTLY pumpkin
Guess what we are going to make next?
Hint: It starts with a Pumpkin and ends with Pie.
Stay tuned, the Thanksgiving Pumpkin-a-Thon isn’t over yet.
Baking, cooking, eating- Fun!
By the way, you should make this pumpkin bread (even if you use the stuff from a can) it is the best pumpkin bread you’ll ever eat.
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Happy Thanksgiving Week,
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
loaves
|
- 6 tbsp butter melted
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 1/2 cups cane sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 & 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg (Nutmeg has a strong flavor & can be left out if you prefer just cinnamon)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 & 3/4 cup fresh milled flour
- 2/3 cup water
- nuts (optional)
- 1/2 stick butter melted
- 8 oz Cream Cheese
- pinch Salt
- powdered sugar
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bread
Cream Cheese Frosting
|
|
To Make Pumpkin Bread:
Heat oven to 340 degrees. Melt the butter & coconut oil in a large bowl. Add the sugar & eggs then mix well. Add the pumpkin puree, spices, salt, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and mix well. Add the flour and mix briefly until it begins to combine. Last, add the water and mix at low speed. Add 1/2 cup of nuts if desired. Pour into prepared loaf pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean (about 1 hour). Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes & remove from pan. Let cool completely before icing.
To Make Icing:
Melt 1/2 stick butter & soften the cream cheese (you want the butter melted & the cream cheese really soft). Mix in the vanilla and salt. With mixer combine and begin adding confectioners sugar. Continue adding sugar until the icing is thick, creamy and spread-able.
Bob Bilik
11/21/2017Thanks Candi – can’t wait to try the Pumpkin Bread Recipe. Love Pumpkin Bread and almost all things pumpkin!
Candi
11/22/2017LOL I love all things pumpkin too!
You are welcome- Happy Thanksgiving!
🙂
Candi