I adapted this recipe from the Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread I found on allrecipes.com… but the extra nutritious twists are all mine!
The first time I made this recipe, I accidentally doubled the amount of pumpkin I used (don’t ask). The thing is, it actually turned out great! Although people generally associate pumpkin with desserts, it’s actually really good for you. It adds some extra fiber, and it has a ton of Vitamin A– one medium slice of this pumpkin bread gives you 150% of your daily value. I think the extra pumpkin also helps to make this bread extra moist.
This recipe makes two generous loaves. This bread is healthy enough that I feel totally justified in having it for breakfast every day. Three people can definitely go through two loaves in a week; if it’s just you, just pop the second loaf in the freezer until you’re ready for it.
Wet ingredients:
- 2 cans of pumpkin (approximately 3.5 cups)
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup water
Dry ingredients:
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 3.5 cups whole wheat flour (you can use white wheat or regular white too)
- 1 cup sugar
- raisins or nuts or whatever you want to put in
You will need two large bowls to make this recipe.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
First mix together the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, salt, and baking soda. When these are well-mixed, add the flour and sugar.
Next, combine the wet ingredients in one bowl.
After the wet ingredients are mixed, then slowly combine the wet and the dry ingredients in the same bowl.
Add as many raisins as you would like; just eyeball it. I personally throw in a ton of raisins because I cut way back on the sugar in this recipe. (I guess this doesn’t exactly make it a low-sugar recipe, but it’s healthier this way because at least raisins have some extra nutrients that plain sugar doesn’t).
Pour the batter into two greased and floured loaf pans. I’ve made this recipe with both 8 x 4 and 9 x 5 inch pans. You’re fine with either one; they’ll just give you loaves of different heights.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately one hour. I start checking them by sticking a wooden chopstick into them around 50 minutes, but sometimes you have to cook them for about 70 minutes total.
Let them cool, and enjoy!
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