Pumpkin Bread

I’m slow to adjust to change. Ironic because I get bored easily and often find myself longing for change or something new to do. And then change comes, and I suddenly am not so sure I want it. We’re now three months(!) into our one-year STINT to Puerto Rico, and I’m still wondering how I feel about the temporary change (that I pushed for, mind you). Moving overseas is a big change, but here’s the thing… I’m not good with little changes. Take new potholders, for example. Most of my potholders are from my bridal showers (18 years ago). It would make sense to get new ones, so I did. Four years ago. I bought two cute potholders on sale from Anthropologie. One year ago, I finally used one of them. For photos for this blog (see pumpkin cinnamon rolls). The other is still with tags in a closet. Baby steps.

I had a medium-sized change come about over the summer when Ryan insisted I get a new computer. I was constantly having to delete files from my old computer because it was full, the battery drained within an hour at best, Apple had stopped updating it and would laugh when I called for help because it was outdated. It was time. The new pretty (rose gold!) computer arrived and sat in a box for at least a month. Are you seeing a pattern? I have issues. You have full freedom to pass judgement.

I’ve learned to take less blurry photos over the past year

Don’t even think about leaving off the cinnamon sugar topping

I’ve now been using my pretty and amazing computer for several months. Or at least I can use it when I don’t have to share it with kids for school (they have no trouble acquiring new things and putting them to use right away). The trouble is, most of my food photos for blogging are on my old computer. I haven’t been able to bake much with being away over the summer and living in a dorm, and now with the heat, bugs and minimally stocked kitchen (this is sad, and probably part of why I’m still struggling with the change of moving).

Today I was going through photos on my old computer to see what to share with you all (there’s a lot… apparently I thought I would be blogging more often than I do), and I saw so many sweet photos and memories that warmed my heart. I also saw photos of this pumpkin bread from last November. I’m so sorry it took me a year to get this to you, but better late than never?! I remember sharing it at a school event or maybe an Election Day school bake sale, and it was well loved.

Yes, you can get a box of Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread mix and enjoy it. It’s easy, and it is quite good. But this bread is not much harder to make than a box mix. It’s incredibly moist. Here’s an up-close photo to prove it…

This pumpkin bread is just all around amazing. Throw in some chocolate chips if you want it to be over the top. If I didn’t literally have small bugs flying at my face right now, I would go make some myself. I may be salivating a bit at the moment. But I don’t like baking with bugs. We’ll save that for another post.

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Pumpkin Bread

Course Snack

Yield 12 servings

Ingredients

For the bread

• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (1 3/4 cups)
• 1/2 cup vegetable or another neutral cooking oil or melted butter (120 ml or 115 grams)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar (330 grams)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp fine sea or table salt
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• Heaped 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• Heaped 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• Two pinches of ground cloves
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (295 grams)

For the topping

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (12 grams)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 6-cup loaf pan (8x4 on the bottom, 9x5 at the top) or coat it with nonstick spray. *see note below.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs and sugar until smooth. Sprinkle baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves over batter and whisk until well-combined. Add flour and stir with a spoon, just until mixed. Scrape into prepared pan and smooth the top. In a small bowl, stir sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle over top of batter.
3. Bake bread for 65 to 75 minutes until a tester poked into several parts of the bread come out batter-free, turning the bread once during the baking time for even coloring.
4. Cool it in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove it, or cool it completely in the pan (allowing more of the cinnamon sugar topping to stick).
5. Bread keeps at room temperature, though if you have snackers like I do, you won't have to worry about storage for more than a day.

Notes

Source: Smitten Kitchen

Note about the pan from Smitten Kitchen:
"Very key here is the size of your loaf pan because this will fill out every speck of it before it is done. Mine holds 6 liquid cups; it’s 8×4 inches on the bottom and 9×5 inches on the top. If yours is even slightly smaller or you’re nervous, go ahead and scoop out a little to make a muffin or two.

You can also make this as muffins. It should make about 18 standard ones and you can distribute the cinnamon sugar (perhaps make 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon worth) across the tops before you bake them. They should bake for 25 to 30 minutes."