The Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my pumpkin bread not moist? ›

There are a number of reasons your pumpkin bread came out dry. It's possible the particular flour you used was extra “thirsty” for liquid. Try cutting the amount of flour, or adding more milk. It's also possible your oven was too hot, or you baked the pumpkin bread for too long.

You might think you could overcome the lack of flavor by adding more pumpkin purée to your recipe, but you'd be mistaken: By the time you've added enough purée to taste it, your baked good would have a soggy texture on account of all that moisture.

I use orange juice because a little liquid keeps the bread from tasting too dense. Milk works too if you don't have orange juice, but the subtle orange flavor is like magic in this bread. It just works. Chocolate Chips: Optional, but if you're a chocolate lover, pumpkin + chocolate is always a good idea.

For example, fats like butter or oil can help keep moisture in, while sugars will help to caramelize on the outside and create a golden crust. These ingredients can also play an essential role in keeping your bread moist when added in smaller quantities.

Pumpkin bread can become dense if there is not enough hydration or wet ingredients in the recipe. Another cause is overcooking the bread which can cause it to dry out. Remember, it's always easy to keep cooking if it isn't done but impossible to take cooking time back.

It involves nothing more than cooking canned pumpkin on the stove for a few minutes. This trick works because adding heat to the purée releases the natural pumpkin flavor, elevating it from barely there to wow.

Baking soda is a leavening agent. It creates air bubbles (technically, carbon dioxide) in your batter, when heated. Without it, your baked goods will not rise to the desired levels and the airy texture you're looking for will be adversely affected.

Setting the Oven Temperature Is Too Hot

If your oven runs hot, your bread is likely to brown and bake up on the outside before the center has a chance to fully cook. Invest in a simple oven thermometer to help verify the temperature. Make sure you have other bread baking essentials in your kitchen, too.

Potato Flakes or Potato Water

Starch helps the dough by trapping the gas from the yeast in the dough and makes the bubbles stronger. This helps the bread to rise and be lighter and fluffier.

How do you know when pumpkin bread is done? ›

So, to know when pumpkin bread is done, look for the crack on the top of the bread, which is a tell-tale sign it's either done or close to being done. Then stick a skewer or toothpick into the center of the bread. If it comes out clean, it's ready to come out of the oven.

Canned pumpkin (labeled as "100% pure pumpkin") is a purée of pumpkin that is sometimes mixed with other kinds of winter squash. It is unsweetened and does not contain any added spices. Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing, and you'll often see the terms used interchangeably in recipes and cookbooks.

You'll need to add sweetener, spices, and possibly a thickener (like eggs). However, you cannot use pumpkin pie filling in place of pure pumpkin unless you are making a pie or dessert that calls for the extra ingredients.

Yes, dogs can eat pumpkin and it is actually often added to dog foods. Check the label of some dog treats and you may find pumpkin on the ingredient list there too. However, if you are feeding fresh pumpkin, you will need to be careful about which part you're feeding as the stem and leaves are covered in prickly hairs.

The Best Overall: Libby's 100% Pure Canned Pumpkin

The 100+ year old company bought the rights to grow a special kind of Dickinson pumpkin for their brand, and that is one of the key reasons their canned pumpkin is so reliable and consistent year after year.

The most important thing is to test with a toothpick before pulling the bread out. Every oven is different and times can differ. If a toothpick comes out clean it means the bread is fully cooked and will not sink.

Your Bread Has Too Much Flour

Adding too much flour is one common mistake for beginning bakers. This produces dry bread with more crumbs. The key is to find a balance between the flour and liquid ingredients in your recipe. It can be tricky because bread recipes don't always give you an exact amount of flour.

Overworking the dough can cause the gluten strands to break down, resulting in a tough and dense bread. To ensure a light and fluffy texture, knead the dough just until it becomes smooth and elastic. This usually takes about 7-10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a stand mixer.

Leaving the bread in the oven too long will dry out bread. If the bread has finished baking before the minimum time stated in the recipe, the oven temperature may not be correct. To insure the correct temperature each time you bake, always use an oven thermometer. Place it in the center of the oven.