Pumpkin Bread

This was my first time baking my mom’s pumpkin bread: the pumpkin bread that I judge all others by. The moment I tasted anyone else’s pumpkin bread (especially store bought), I knew I had been spoiled rotten. While mom didn’t make up this recipe, I’ve never tasted any other pumpkin bread that makes my mouth as happy as this one.

Where did it come from? you might ask. Well, someone named Sue Lightbody shared this recipe in Wee Cook Book from the Greendale YMCA Wee Wuns Nursery School in 1995. You know, it’s one of those black plastic loop bound books that a bunch of people from one community collaborate on to put together. THANK YOU, YOU WONDERFUL SOULS!

This bread is bursting with pumpkin and pumpkin pie flavors that all meld into a rich, dense bread you could easily serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or with a cup of coffee. Most dessert breads, like this one, have a drier and lighter texture but this one is like eating cake. It should probably be called pumpkin cake instead but I don’t know what the classifying differences are between bread and cake. I should look into that.

Pumpkin Bread

Sue Lightbody

Wee Cook Book
Greendale YMCA
Wee Wuns Nursery School

1995

Makes 3 loaves!

Ingredients

3 cups sugar

3 1/3 cups flour

2 tsps baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 ½ tsps. salt

4 eggs

1 can pumpkin

1 cup canola oil

2/3 cup cold water

1-1  ½ cups nuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to 325°F then mix your dry ingredients in a large bowl. Beat your eggs in a separate bowl then mix in your pumpkin, oil, and cold water. Once all your wet ingredients are combined, slowly pour and mix your dry ingredients with your wet ingredients. If you want nuts, add them in after the batter is smooth and uniform.

Grease your bread pans. I used pans approximately 8in X 4in X 3in. Fill pans halfway. You need to give your bread space to rise and you don’t want it to rise up and over your pan.

Bake for 30 minutes then turn the oven down to 300°F and bake for another 30 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick and remove it without any batter clinging to it.

Allow to cool before eating if you can be patient! I usually wait until its cool enough to remove from the pan and then I have my first piece.

Since this recipe makes so much, you can easily freeze a loaf or two and enjoy at a later date. In fact, after it defrosts from a stay in the freezer, it is even better. The extra moisture from the defrosting process makes the bread so good!