Alright, so I finally got around to trying that King Arthur pumpkin bread recipe I’d seen floating around. Had a can of pumpkin puree staring at me from the pantry shelf for weeks, figured it was time.
Getting Started – The Usual Chaos
First things first, had to clear some counter space. You know how it is. Then I started pulling everything out. Flour, sugar, the spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves. Love that smell. Checked the dates on my baking soda and powder, always gotta do that. Learned that lesson the hard way once with some very flat muffins.
Needed eggs, oil, and of course, the pumpkin. Grabbed a couple of big bowls. One for the dry stuff, one for the wet. Standard procedure, keeps things slightly less messy. Usually.
Mixing It Up
Dumped the flour, sugars (both white and brown, the recipe called for it), baking soda, salt, and all those lovely spices into the big bowl. Gave it a good whisk just to get everything acquainted. Simple enough.
In the other bowl, cracked the eggs, poured in the oil, and scooped out that whole can of pumpkin puree. Whisked that together until it was mostly smooth. Looked very orange, as you’d expect.
Then came the moment of truth – combining the wet and the dry. Poured the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. The key here, they always say, is don’t overmix. Just stir until the flour disappears. Lumps are apparently okay. Resisted the urge to beat the life out of it. It actually came together pretty quickly. Looked like, well, pumpkin bread batter.
Pans and Patience
The recipe makes two loaves, so I greased and floured a couple of loaf pans. Honestly, greasing pans is my least favorite part, but necessary. Divided the batter between the two pans. Seemed like a lot of batter, hoped it wouldn’t overflow.
Into the preheated oven they went. Think it was 350 degrees F? Yeah, sounds right. Now the waiting game. The house started smelling amazing after about 30 minutes. That warm, spicy, pumpkin smell is just the best, isn’t it?
The Moment of Truth
Recipe said about an hour or so. I started checking around the 55-minute mark. Stuck a wooden skewer into the center of one loaf. Came out clean! Pulled them out of the oven, letting them cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack.
They looked pretty good! Nice golden brown top, decent rise. Had to wait for them to cool completely before slicing, which is actual torture when your kitchen smells that good.
Taste Test and Final Thoughts
Finally, cut a slice. It was really moist and tender. The spice level was just right for me – present, but not overpowering. Definitely tasted like pumpkin. It wasn’t too dense, wasn’t too light. Pretty much nailed what I think of as classic pumpkin bread.
Was it revolutionary? Maybe not, but it was solid. A reliable recipe. Gave one loaf away, kept the other. It disappeared pretty fast. Definitely worth making again, maybe throw in some chocolate chips next time. Yeah, a good baking session overall.
