As I promised, we will be doing “pumpkin everything” on the blog this year! I shared with you my favorite recipes for sweet pumpkin with bechamel, pasta with pumpkin sauce & today I am sharing my recipe for pumpkin bread!

Perfect balance between sweet & spicy with a moist crumb that’s not too dense!

I am using fresh pumpkin puree because I am not really into the canned one! This might take some time from you but the puree can be prepared 5 days in advance & stored in the fridge or even frozen for months.

Add chopped walnuts/pecan, semi sweet chocolate chips or leave it plain, it will be delicious in all cases! I prefer it plain but my kids love everything with chocolate.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda كربونات الصودا
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon قرفة
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg جوزة الطيب
• 1/8 tsp ginger جنزبيل
• pinch of salt رشة ملح
• 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree* قرع عسل
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup brown sugar*
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/4 cup rayeb milk or milk
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips or chopped walnuts (optional)

• Preheat oven to 180 C. Brush a 29×11 cm loaf pan with oil. Set aside.
• In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices & salt. Set aside.
• In another large bowl, mix the pumpkin puree with the rest of the ingredients (except the chocolate chips/nuts) until well combined.
• Gently fold the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture until just combined (don’t overmix). Fold in the chocolate chips or nuts if using.
• Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Smooth the top with the back of your spatula. Bake for about 50-60 minutes (depending on your oven) or until a tooth pick insterted in the middle comes out clean with just few crumbs stuck to it.
• Let the bread cool for 10-15 minutes in the loaf pan then invert over a wire rack & let cool completely.
• Slice & serve at room temperature. The leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days (depending on the weather) or in the fridge for a week.

Notes: 

• I use fresh pumpkin puree not the canned one but if you prefer the canned one, make sure to use pumpkin puree and not pie filling.
• If the fresh pumpkin puree is too watery, put it in a sieve for 3-4 hours to get rid of the extra water.
• I use dark brown sugar but if you can’t find it; use light brown sugar or regular brown sugar instead.
• I tested this bread in 3 ovens; in 2 ovens, it baked beautifully without the top getting too dark/burnt. In the 3rd oven, I had to LOOSELY cover the bread with foil halfway through baking as the top was getting too dark. It really depends on your oven so check the bread halfway through baking to make sure its not getting too dark.
• If you are using a loaf pan with a different size (smaller or bigger than the one mentioned in the recipe), the baking time will change accordingly.
• Step by step Arabic video is on my Instagram Account.

This recipe is adapted with changes from sallysbakingaddiction.com