We are in the last week of August, I just can’t believe how time has flown by! Fall is not far off and if that’s not obvious then the stores here will certainly remind you. And before you know it, it will be time for Christmas! It’s that time of the year when pumpkin spice everything, starts making an appearance here in the US. We don’t really get to see Fall colors here in Louisiana, but at least the temperatures drop to a point where it is nice and pleasant. I really don’t need a chance to bake anyway. For me, it is like a stress buster! So even though we are a few weeks away from Fall officially, I still went ahead and baked us this delicious and really easy pumpkin bread. Coz! Why not?? At least breakfast was sorted for a couple of days..haha 😀 Banana bread and zucchini bread are a regular in my house, and with the use of canned pumpkin, it is quite possible to enjoy pumpkin bread all year round too. Pumpkin lends itself really well not only in savory dishes like curries, soups, or sauces or beverages like Pumpkin spice latte, or smoothies but also in desserts like pumpkin rolls, pumpkin pudding, pumpkin fudge. Pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, anyone? 😀
What is pumpkin bread?
A question as simple as this may sound silly, but trust me, if you had asked me this 5 years ago, I would have no definite answer. I’d just think it is a sort of sandwich bread flavored with pumpkin perhaps. Because in India, bread is just a yeasted bread. We don’t have things like quick breads, we either have tea cakes or loaf cakes. For instance, a biscuit is a cookie in India, wheres a biscuit here is leavened quick bread. So anyway, I drifted from the question. For the uninitiated, pumpkin bread is a moist quick bread flavored with warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves. Quick bread uses chemical leavening agents like baking powder and soda instead of yeast. Biscuits, muffins, scones, etc are different types of quick breads.
Ingredients needed
To make this incredibly easy and moist pumpkin quick bread you will need;
Dry ingredients: Flour, baking powder, and soda, pumpkin pie spice, along with salt. Wet ingredients: Pumpkin puree (not canned pumpkin pie filling), oil, sugar, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Optional: Pumpkin seeds for the topping
This pumpkin bread recipe without eggs turned out to be really good. It’s not like I have anything against eggs in baking. I love eggs and do use them for day to day cooking or in baking. But when I tried this recipe for the first time, I didn’t regret skipping the eggs. If you are a vegetarian or want to bake a loaf of pumpkin bread for someone who has egg allergies, you should definitely try this recipe.
What makes this eggless version of pumpkin loaf light and moist?
The secret of this really soft, tender, and moist pumpkin loaf lies in the use of oil and buttermilk. And the use of pumpkin puree itself can be attributed to the moistness of this bread. It is seriously the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever had!
How long to cook pumpkin bread?
Once you gather your dry and wet ingredients, mix both well. Transfer the batter into your loaf pan and bake. It takes around 55-60 minutes to bake, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Each oven is different, so keep an eye towards the end of baking time.
Optional add-ins
Nuts: Stir in about 1/2 cup of chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans. Chocolate chips: Add about 3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Raisins: Mix in about 1/2 cup of raisins. This simple pumpkin bread recipe is like a blank canvas, get creative, and add your own mix-ins! Just takes the bread to a whole new level.
That aroma of warm spices wafting as the bread was baking was absolutely divine! One of the many advantages of making fresh pumpkin bread at home! A little treat for your senses too 😀 This recipe is adapted from my easy banana bread recipe. I converted it into this eggless pumpkin bread and wow!! it turned out to be so light, soft, and fluffy. In fact, you can use this recipe to make muffins or cupcakes. As always, I like to start off with an awesome base recipe which gives me the chance to modify it so that I can make it healthier. I’m not a fan of whole wheat cakes, but I guess white whole wheat flour would work in this recipe, and the oil can be substituted with applesauce for a healthier bread. I haven’t tried it with these substitutions yet, but if you do, I’d be happy to know how it turned out!
Storage
This recipe yields a single loaf which will keep well for at least 4-5 days at room temperature or up to 1 week in the refrigerator. I seriously doubt it will last that long but in case you end up with leftovers and are wondering what to do with it, you can make pumpkin bread pudding, or pumpkin bread french toast, or simply toast it and slather butter and enjoy.
Can you freeze this bread?
Yes, you can! Wrap the entire loaf with a cling film after it has cooled completely, place it a labeled freezer-safe bag and freeze up to three months. You can also freeze individual slices wrapped with cling film, and aluminum foil for up to 3 months. Thaw it at room temperature for a couple of hours or in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds, or until thawed.
Don’t forget to check out these egg-free bakes
Moist banana bread Eggless mango loaf cake Date and walnut loaf (eggless) Eggless marble cake
How to make eggless pumpkin bread – Step by step instructions
Step 1: Prepare the loaf pan
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C, position a rack in the middle of the oven. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with little oil and dust with flour to coat the pan, or you may use parchment paper. {My loaf pan dimensions- 25.5 cms x 11.5 cms (10 x 5 inches), height of 7 cms}.
Step 2: Dry ingredients
In a medium mixing bowl, sift all the dry ingredients (1.5 cups all-purpose flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix) twice, from a height. Add 1/2 tsp salt, whisk until well combined. Set aside.
Step 3: Wet ingredients
Combine 1 cup pumpkin puree, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup oil, 1/2 cup buttermilk or milk, and 1 tsp vanilla extract in a medium-sized bowl, whisk until you have a homogeneous mixture.
Step 4: Mix wet and dry ingredients
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, fold gently just until combined and no more flour pockets are visible. Do not overmix the batter. A few tiny lumps are okay.
Step 5: Bake
Transfer the batter to the baking pan. Gently tap it on the counter 2-3 times to remove the air bubbles. Sprinkle 3 tbsp pumpkin seeds (optional) on top. Bake on the middle rack for 55-60 min or until the toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. If you feel the top is browning quickly and the bread is still uncooked, cover with a foil during the last 10-15 minutes of baking.
Step 6: Cool and slice
Transfer the bread to a cooling rack, let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then, remove the bread from the pan, place it on the cooling rack, and allow it to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
This amount of sugar was the right sweetness for us. If you like a less sweet pumpkin bread decrease the sugar to 3/4 cup. f you do not have pumpkin pie spice mix, use the following homemade spice mix- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice & 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves. For a vegan version, swap the buttermilk with your choice of plant-based milk.
★ If you try this eggless pumpkin bread, I would love to hear from you! I’d appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review below in the comments. Your reviews help others know the recipe better too. Feel free to share your feedback and suggestions at [email protected]. Thanks so much 🙂 You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram & Twitter
