Perfectly spiced, super moist, and highly addictive. This pumpkin bread recipe is packed with fall flavors, and is a perfect morning treat or afternoon snack.
If you can’t tell already, quick breads are one of my favorite baked goods to make. They are easy, typically don’t require special equipment or ingredients, and are crowd pleasers.
For me, the perfect pumpkin bread should be tender, moist, and very pumpkin forward. Some recipes only use part of a can of pumpkin – not this recipe!
I’ve made quite a few pumpkin bread recipes in the past, but this one is my favorite because of the richness of the flavors and tenderness of the loaf. The flavors only improve a day or two after you make it.
Moist Pumpkin Bread Recipe Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder
- Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
- Spices – Cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, allspice, ground cloves.
- Sugar – I use white sugar, but you can swap out some of the white sugar (1/4) for brown sugar.
- Pumpkin (one whole can! Not pumpkin pie filling)
- Molasses – Highly recommended for added depth of flavor.
- Eggs
- Sour Cream – Can swap out WHOLE milk Greek yogurt if you prefer.
- Vegetable or Canola Oil
Tips on Making Moist Pumpkin Bread
- As with most recipes, makes sure your ingredients are room temperature. This ensures even baking, resulting in a moist loaf.
- When mixing the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, take care not to over-mix, but ensure that all lumps of flour are broken up. If you leave lumps of flour in the batter you’ll end up with pockets in the final baked good.
- Turn the loaf once in the middle of the bake time to ensure even browning.
- This loaf takes a while to bake. If your cake tester is still coming out with streaks of wet batter, and you’re worried about the top burning, you can put a piece of tin foil gently over the top to prevent browning.
- If you want the crust to stay crisp, wrap the loaf in a tea towel and store in a paper bag.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
This pumpkin bread is best eaten the second day when the flavors have a chance to meld. However, it is still delicious served warm from the oven!
I prefer to store my bread in an airtight container, or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator. It will last for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
At room temperature, the bread will last for approximately 2 to 3 days. It is a moist loaf, so keep an eye on it if it’s out at room temperature.
To freeze the bread – Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then wrapped again with tin foil, before storing in an airtight container or plastic bag. The bread can be frozen for up to 3 months.
To defrost, remove from the freezer and allow to come to room temperature on the counter.
If you think you’ll want to only defrost a few slices at a time, or part of the bread, you can wrap the pieces individually. This way you don’t have to defrost the whole loaf!
If you liked this Moist Pumpkin Bread recipe, you may also like:
Sweet Pear and Crunchy Walnut Muffins (another fall baked good!)
Did you enjoy this recipe, make sure to rate it and comment!
Moist Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Equipment
- 1 9 x 5 inch pan (or 8 x 8 square baking dish - adjust bake time)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2¼ cups (295 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
- 1½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (heaping)
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (heaping)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Wet Ingredients
- 1½ cup (300 g) sugar
- 1¾ cup (one 15 ounce can) pumpkin puree (not filling)
- 1/2 cup (115 g/120 ml) vegetable oil or canola oil
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon (30 g) molasses, optional but highly recommended!
Topping
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 350 ℉. Butter or grease a 9 x 5 inch baking pan, line a strip of parchment paper in the middle to create two handles.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, and set aside. If there are lumps, use a sieve to sift and break them up.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the wet ingredients, including the sugar, until thoroughly blended.
- Using a wooden spoon or spatula, Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and gently stir to combine. Mix the batter until there are no streaks of flour, but take care not to over-mix. The batter will still be lumpy and should not be smooth.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. In a small dish, mix the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the top of the batter.
- Bake the bread for approximately 65 to 75 minutes, until a tester or knife comes out completely clean. Turn the loaf one time in the oven, approximately half way through to ensure even browning.
- Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan before removing. Alternatively, you can allow the bread to cool completely in the pan. The pumpkin bread should be stored in an air tight container, or wrapped tightly in plastic, for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5. To ensure the bread stays more "crispy" on the exterior, you can wrap the bottom with a paper towel.
Notes
- To Freeze: Wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap, wrap the entire loaf in tin foil, and then place in an airtight container or freezer bag.To defrost, remove the bread from the freezer and allow to thaw at room temperature.
- Pro Tip: Freeze individual slices using the same method as described above.
- Ingredient Notes:
- Swap some of the white sugar in the recipe for brown sugar for a deep flavor (try 1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar instead of white).
- If you don't have sour cream, whole milk greek yogurt works fine!
