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Old Fashioned Pumpkin Bread

Old fashioned pumpkin bread with a soft, moist crumb and warm pumpkin spice flavor baked in a golden loaf. Made with real pumpkin purée and baked until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 320
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry Ingredients
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp ground cloves
  • 0.25 tsp ground ginger
  • 0.5 tsp kosher salt
Wet Ingredients
  • 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin purée Use canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling).
  • 2 eggs Large.
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.5 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 0.25 cup whole milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional Topping
  • 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
  • 1 tbsp coarse sugar

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prepare the pan
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.
Mix dry ingredients
  1. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, ground ginger, and kosher salt until evenly combined.
Mix wet ingredients
  1. Whisk the pumpkin purée, eggs, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, vegetable oil, whole milk, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Combine and top
  1. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold gently with a spatula until no dry flour remains, then avoid overmixing.
  2. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle pumpkin seeds and coarse sugar if using.
Bake
  1. Bake at 350°F for 55–65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
  2. If the top browns too quickly, loosely cover with foil during the final 15 minutes of baking.
Cool and serve
  1. Cool the bread in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack.
  2. Slice only once completely cooled and serve as desired.

Notes

Pro tip: stop mixing as soon as you no longer see dry flour to keep the crumb tender. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 5 days; freeze sliced bread for up to 2 months. For a dairy-free version, swap the whole milk for an equal amount of unsweetened non-dairy milk.