Mom’s pumpkin bread
One of my favorite childhood memories was waking up in the mornings before school with an autumn chill in the air and the smell of fresh baked pumpkin bread wafting up to my room from the kitchen. My mom regularly baked pumpkin bread throughout the fall and winter months and now, like back then, this bread always brings me deep comfort, reminding me of her. While she typically made it from a box (no judgment! she was also a busy working mom that took the time out of her already early and hectic mornings to make us fresh pumpkin bread), I recreated here a version from scratch that tastes almost identical to what I had growing up.
Although it is from scratch, it is super easy and quick. I have created both a non-vegan and vegan version. I hope that the smell and taste of this pumpkin bread gives you the same feelings of comfort, joy, and nostalgia that it brings me.
mom’s pumpkin bread recipe (non-vegan)
ingredients
100g all-purpose flour
100g spelt flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp baking powder
180g brown sugar
75 g neutral oil*
1 14oz can pumpkin puree or sweet potato puree**
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
optional add-ins: 3/4 cup of chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts, anything that sounds good to you :)
instructions
Set the oven to 350 degrees F, lightly grease a loaf tin, and line it with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, weigh out all of the dry ingredients including the all-purpose flour, spelt flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, and baking powder. Whisk until fully combined.
In a large bowl, mix sugar, oil, pumpkin puree, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until fully combined.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and use a spatula to mix until everything is just combined and you don’t see any more clumps of flour (be careful with over-mixing here, it will make the bread more tough). Pour in any add-ins and mix until evenly distributed.
Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and use a spatula to smooth the batter. Give it a few taps to make sure all of the air bubbles are out of it.
Put the loaf pan in the oven for 55-60 minutes. I usually like to start checking on it around 50 minutes to make sure it isn’t getting to dark on top. If this is happening, loosely tent some foil on top while it continues baking. Insert a tooth pick or knife at an angle to check for doneness.
Once it has finished baking (I’m sorry this is the hardest step) let it cool almost completely before diving in. Otherwise, there’s a risk that it might not hold together as well. I find that this pumpkin bread tastes better a day or even two days later.
Store at room temperature for 3-4 days or (if it lasts that long) in the fridge for a week.
NOTES
* I used sunflower oil but any neutral oil here would work.
** Why use sweet potato you may ask? Because believe it or not, some canned pumpkin puree (especially non-organic) are actually made with sweet potatoes instead of pumpkins, so there’s a chance that the “pumpkin” pie you had every year during the holidays was made with sweet potato instead of pumpkin! For me, both work well here and taste very similar, but I do have a certain level of nostalgia using sweet potato because it reminds me more of what I had growing up. Either way, it’ll be delicious :)
mom’s pumpkin bread recipe (vegan)
ingredients
2 tbsp ground flax seed
5 tbsp water
100g all-purpose flour
100g spelt flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp cloves
180g brown sugar
75 g neutral oil*
1 14oz can pumpkin puree or sweet potato puree**
2 tbsp ground flax seed
water
1 tsp vanilla extract
optional add-ins: 3/4 cup of vegan chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts, anything that sounds good to you :)
instructions
Set the oven to 350 degrees F, lightly grease a loaf tin, and line it with parchment paper.
Combine the flax seed and water in a small bowl and stir. Set aside for this to thicken (it will act as a binding agent in replacement of the eggs***).
In a small bowl, weigh out all of the dry ingredients including the all-purpose flour, spelt flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, and baking powder. Whisk until fully combined.
In a large bowl, mix sugar, oil, pumpkin puree, flax-water mixture, and vanilla extract. Whisk until fully combined.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and use a spatula to mix until everything is just combined and you don’t see any more clumps of flour (be careful with over-mixing here, it will make the bread more tough). Pour in any add-ins and mix until evenly distributed.
Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and use a spatula to smooth the batter. Give it a few taps to make sure all of the air bubbles are out of it.
Put the loaf pan in the oven for 55-60 minutes. I usually like to start checking on it around 50 minutes to make sure it isn’t getting to dark on top. If this is happening, loosely tent some foil on top while it continues baking. Insert a tooth pick or knife at an angle to check for doneness.
Once it has finished baking (I’m sorry this is the hardest step) let it cool almost completely before diving in. Otherwise, there’s a risk that it might not hold together as well. I find that this pumpkin bread tastes better a day or even two days later.
Store at room temperature for 3-4 days or (if it lasts that long) in the fridge for a week.
NOTES
* I used sunflower oil but any neutral oil here would work.
** Why use sweet potato you may ask? Because believe it or not, some canned pumpkin puree (especially non-organic) are actually made with sweet potatoes instead of pumpkins, so there’s a chance that the “pumpkin” pie you had every year during the holidays was made with sweet potato instead of pumpkin! For me, both work well here and taste very similar, but I do have a certain level of nostalgia using sweet potato because it reminds me more of what I had growing up. Either way, it’ll be delicious :)
***To make one flax egg combine 1 tbsp of ground flax seed and 2.5 tbsp of water. Here, we’re replacing two eggs, so doubling the recipe.
