Grandma’s Famous Pumpkin Bread

So here is Yammie’s grandma’s famous pumpkin bread. You know it’s going to be good, because it’s based on her grandma’s famous banana bread muffins.  It’s so delicious that Yammie had wanted to freeze “the rest” soon after she made it when we realized “the rest” was just an end piece with a few crumbs.  But apparently the bread does freeze well if you have too much, says Yammie.  Anyway, this isn’t Yammie writing this post.  I suppose you could tell, because Yammie usually doesn’t speak in the third person.  But if you do go back and imagine her writing, it is kind of funny.

I’m Yammie’s husband, Samuel.  Yammie wasn’t enthusiastic about making this post.  She doesn’t like the pictures or something, so I decided I would do the post for her.  Not just because I love and want to encourage my talented wife, but also because I love and really must promote this amazing bread.  It’s a different kind of love…

But as you can imagine from the pictures, every bite consists of a warm, soft, mouth-watering experience of dense sweetness.  But the taste is not all.  It sticks together well, but it doesn’t stick on you.  I know this, because I’ve done the ultimate test of carrying pieces around in my backpack all day in a bread bag.  Every time I pulled a perfectly intact piece out of my backpack in the train station and took a bite, all the people gazed helplessly at the bread like dogs waiting for crumbs to drop to the ground.  Single tears sparkled in the distance when they realize there weren’t any crumbs.

The smell is also amazing.  I told my friend next to me in class about the pumpkin bread my wife made, and as I pulled it out of my backpack to show him, immediately the room was filled with a warm aroma fit for the season as I heard noses sniffing and felt eyes glancing from all around the classroom to find this source of delight.  Anyway, I shared it with a few classmates, but I mostly just ate it myself unconsciously.  Turns out that the Germans were unfamiliar with pumpkin bread.  So German people especially, you gotta try this one: your compatriots were impressed.  They did associate it more with Christmas, though, which makes sense.  The spices make it comparable to Lebkuchen.  But really don’t wait that long to try it!

Grandma’s Famous Pumpkin Bread

• • 1 cup pumpkin puree (get the recipe for your own pumpkin puree here or use a can)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (a gluten free all-purpose mix or even just plain rice flour work great!)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • Preheat panggangan to 350ºF (180ºC).
  • Line a standard sized loaf pan with tin foil*.
  • Combine the pumpkin, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add the sugar and mix well.
  • Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Add to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.
  • Pour into the loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from pan. The tin foil will peel right off.
  • This recipe also makes one dozen muffins. Bake at 375ºF (190ºC) for 20 minutes.

*My pan was not actually standard sized. Really any pan will work. You just might have to adjust the baking time. As long as you cook it until a toothpick comes out clean, it should be fine.