Gram's Pumpkin Bread


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Time: ~ 1 hour
Yield: 3 loaves
When I was a kid my Gram would make pumpkin bread every fall. For those few months, we'd always have a loaf in our house. When I went to college, she'd always send a loaf (or sometimes two). Some time after she passed, I asked my mother for her old recipe card. Between her handwriting and the amount of stains, faded ink, folds, and tears, it was impossible to read. I spent a few days deciphering what I could and researching similar recipes across the interwebz to fill in the blanks. Alas...I had recreated Gram's pumpkin bread!


Ingredients

  • 320g white sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 125g vegetable shortening
  • 1 can pumpkin (about 2 cups)
  • 437g all purpose flour
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 2.0 tsp baking soda
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 1.0 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp ground cloves
  • 160g water
  • butter for greasing

Equipment

  • 3 small loaf pans
  • 2 large bowls
  • whisk
  • wooden spoon

Steps

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350f.
  2. Butter and dust with flour three small loaf pans.
  3. In one of your bowls, stir shortening and sugar together. I use a wooden spoon to break up the shortening. It takes a little time but you will eventually get it combined into a rough sand texture.
  4. Add in the eggs and the pumpkin and combine. I usually switch to a whisk here to combine.
  5. In your other bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Give it a little whisk or stir with a fork to combine.
  6. Add the dry mixture and water to your egg/pumpkin mixture a third at a time, each time combining until smooth.
  7. Pour mixture evenly into your loaf pans and use a spatula to spread and smooth the top.
  8. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Times can vary so I check it every 5 minutes after 30 and insert a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, it's done. If not, check back in 5.

Optionals

  • Raisins, nuts, or chocolate chips can all be added before separating into loaf pans. I prefer lots of mini milk chocolate chips!
  • A cream cheese filling can give you a fancy cross section. You can find tons of recipes for this online and it's fairly simple.
  • Top it. I prefer a store bought cream cheese frosting. I've also done a sugar and cinnamon sprinkle before baking which creates a sweet, hard crust.
Make something delicious.