The pumpkin, biologically considered a fruit, was one of the first wild plants cultivated for human consumption in America. Like other forms of squash, pumpkins are easy to grow as well as easy to store because of their thick, solid flesh. It’s likely that pumpkin was served at the First Thanksgiving. Pumpkin recipes vary from savory to sweet and include pie, stew, tart, pudding, and soup. The flesh can be boiled, roasted, fried, or mashed, and the seeds can be dried and salted for a snack. Nineteenth century pumpkin bread was often made using cornmeal in place of flour, yeast instead of chemical leavening agents, and little to no sugar. Like many bread recipes, it has evolved over the years to be more like a sweet cake.
Recipe Servings: 20
Ingredients
- Shortening, as needed to grease pans
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off (plus a little to dust pans)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin
Directions
- Set an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Grease two 8 x 4-inch loaf pans with shortening and dust them with flour.
- Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Whisk until well combined and then set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl just until blended using an electric mixer on medium speed.
- Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating for a few minutes or until very light and fluffy.
- Beat in the pumpkin.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
- Pour the batter evenly into the two prepared pans.
- Bake for 65–75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the loaves from the oven and let them cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
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