How to make…Pumpkin bread

When many Americans think of pumpkins, they seem to think of Halloween jack-o-lanterns, canned pumpkin puree for pies made at Thanksgiving, and the profusion of pumpkin spice coffees and creamers that are marketed during autumn. That was certainly Sandy’s experience until she moved to the UK where we couldn’t readily source canned pumpkin puree from the supermarket.

I don’t remember exactly how we got into pureeing pumpkin from scratch, but I assume it happened one year when she was homesick for Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. I do remember back in 2012 or 2013 that we went a bit overboard with pumpkins when we went grocery shopping on November 1st and found pumpkins on sale for 10p each. I think we bought three or four large pumpkins and got to work roasting and preserving all manner of pumpkin recipes.

Over time, it’s this pumpkin bread which has stood the test of time in our house and gets made regularly, throughout the year. Because it’s quicker and easier to make than pie, and it’s easier to share with friends and family.

And, while I don’t think that we’ll ever go back to using store-bought pumpkin puree because we hope to always have a supply of our own, frozen pumpkin available, there’s absolutely no reason that you can’t use canned pumpkin puree for this recipe and I encourage you to do so if it means you’ll get to try out this delicious recipe sooner. We’re sure you’ll love it!

Ingredients

1	cup	oil	Vegetable, canola or sunflower oil
3	cups	granulated sugar
2	cups	cooked pumpkin	Or 1 can of store-bought pumpkin puree
4		eggs
½	cup	water	Only needed if you’re using canned, store-bought puree.
3½	cups	flour
1¼	tsps	salt
3	tsps	baking soda	Bicarbonate of soda
1	tsp	ground cinnamon
1	tsp	ground nutmeg
1	cup	dried cranberries	Optional. You can also use chopped pecans.

Preparation

Cooked pumpkin

If you’re using a fresh pumpkin that needs to be cooked, we’ve found the best way to prepare it is to:

1. Cut it into wedges and remove the seeds (you can separate them from the pulp to make roasted pumpkin seeds).
2. Then place the wedges on a cookie sheet or baking tray.
3. Spread a bit of butter and cinnamon and sugar onto the raw pulp.
4. Bake at 350 F / 180 C for about 20 minutes or until a fork is easily inserted into the pulp.
5. Remove the pumpkin wedges from the oven and cover with cling film until cool enough to handle.
6. When you can handle the pumpkin, tear the pulp from the skin, place into a bowl.
7. Use a stick blender to puree the pulp.
8. You can then freeze the pureed pumpkin in 2-3 cup measures in freezer bags for a year or more.

Note: Freeze the packages flat so that they can be stacked most efficiently in the freezer.

Pumpkin bread

1. Grease your loaf tins with butter.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C.
3. Mix the wet ingredients, starting with whisking or beating the eggs.
4. Then stir in the dry ingredients, a bit at a time to make sure it’s all incorporated.
5. Coat the cranberries, if your using them, in the last bit of flour before you stir them into the mixture. This will help the cranberries stay distributed through the bread, rather than sinking to the bottom during baking.
6. Pour the batter into your greased tins so that they are about 2/3rds full.
7. For small loaf tins, bake for 30-40 minutes; for larger tins, bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick (cocktail stick) inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. If you need more than an hour for the loaf to bake completely, cover the top loosely with tin foil to prevent burning.
9. When the toothpick test passes, remove the tins from the oven.  Let the bread cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the tin to allow it to finish cooling on a wire rack.
10. When cool, wrap in tin foil.  It should keep for two to three days.
11. Store any that won’t be eaten in a couple of days, in the freezer. Be sure to label and date them so you remember what they are later.

Watch us make it

Check out our YouTube video by clicking the image below to see how I make my pumpkin bread, and don’t forget to like, and subscribe to our channel while you’re there.

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