Two things:
- I love pumpkin bread
- I trust Southern Living recipes
Pumpkin bread is a year-round treat in my book. One summer, I signed up for a
6-week exercise class across town. And every day on the way home, I'd drive
through Starbucks for a slice of pumpkin loaf and an iced coconut milk vanilla
latte. Thus, canceling out any benefit of the class. WORTH IT.
Let's not bury the lead here. This pumpkin bread recipe rivals the
pumpkin loaf at Starbucks. It might be better.
I don't subscribe to
Southern Living anymore because the recipes I wanted to try were just piling up and a little
out of control. So, it's no surprise that when I picked up a copy of their
latest issue on a whim, I immediately added to my must-make recipe pile.
I'll be honest; most of those recipes will go unmade. So many recipes, so
little time.
I knew, though, that I would make one recipe right away. Southern Living's
Pumpkin Bread.
Let's Make Southern Living's Pumpkin Bread Recipe.
SL's pumpkin bread recipe doesn't call for any fancy or "secret" ingredients.
It's a standard one starting with creaming sugar and butter, adding eggs and
buttermilk, then the dry ingredients.
Even the spices are kept simple here - no allspice, no cloves, no cardamom -
just cinnamon and nutmeg.
I altered one part of the recipe, which is the topping. Southern Living
recommended a mix of seeds for the top, and they do look pretty, but I decided
to substitute pine nuts.
Pine nuts are not a traditional pumpkin bread topping, but I love that they add texture without being too crunchy.
They have just the right texture, soft-crunchy.
Start by greasing two loaf pans. Yay for recipes that make two!
One note: I bought a nice, new,
QUALITY loaf pan from King Arthur Flour
just for this recipe. The loaf baked in the KA pan slipped right out easily.
The one baked in my old, cheap pan got stuck - despite the greasing. Pan
quality matters. I'm buying another one of those pans ASAP.
(You can see the new "good" pan in the foreground of the photo above.)
Southern Living's Pumpkin Bread Recipe
(makes 2 loaves)*
3 1/3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or ground is fine)
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 eggs
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup pine nuts
Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans. Lightly flour, shaking out
excess. *NOTE: after making this a few times, I prefer to grease the pans and line them with a parchment "sling." Grease the pans first, then cut parchment paper to fit across the width with some overhang. Press into the pan, and lightly grease the parchment.
Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together.
Set aside.
Beat both sugars and melted butter until lightened and combined, about 2
minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down bottom and sides of bowl
as needed. Mix in pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla until blended, about 1
minute.
Add flour mixture on low speed, mixing just until combined. Scraping bottom
and sides of bowl.
Pour evenly into prepared loaf pans. Roughly chop the pine nuts so that some
are still whole. Sprinkle half over each loaf.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle come out
clean or with moist crumbs. Cover lightly with foil for the last 5-10 minutes
of baking. (I literally laid a sheet of foil across both pans without crimping
the sides at all.)
Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooking rack to cool completely
before slicing. If using the parchment "sling," simply use the overhang to lift out of the pan. Or, if the bread doesn't want to pop out, run a thin knife along
the edge of the bread, then try again.
Use a serrated knife to cut into slices. We picked up a
Claude Dozorme bread knife
in Germany and have since bought another. We love them. Wrap leftover bread
in foil.
*slightly adapted from Southern Living, September 2022
This is a great recipe to make. Keep one loaf for yourself and give the
other. It gives you an excellent excuse to make it again. And again.
