Old Fashioned Pumpkin Walnut Bread Recipe
We love this super moist pumpkin nut bread. With a nice dose of healthy pumpkin puree (we make our own but canned works just as well), ground nuts and oil, it comes together quickly, keeps well for days and can be frozen. Spice it up according to your taste and eat it plain or glazed. It's outstanding either way!
Servings 10 slices
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose or cake flour sifted. If not using the ground walnut flour below, use 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup walnut flour or finely ground walnuts, optional
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice homemade or store-bought (see Notes, below)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil I use sunflower
- 1 cup pumpkin puree fresh or canned, or butternut squash puree
- ¾ cup walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
- Butter or use baking spray on an 8x4-inch loaf pan. You can line it with a strip of parchment paper, covering the pan's bottom and two short sides. The two long sides will remain unlined but greased. This will help you remove the cake from the pan.
- Grind the walnuts for the flour, and coarsely chop the ones for the top, or leave whole if you prefer that. Reserve.
- Beat 1 egg, 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar, and ¼ cup vegetable oil in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add 1 cup pumpkin puree and mix well.
- Sift together 1 cup all-purpose or cake flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Add ¼ cup walnut flour and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice and stir to mix well. You can also have them measured and sift them directly over the pumpkin mixture.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to incorporate; don't overmix. If adding the chopped ¾ cup walnuts to the batter, do so now and mix lightly.
- Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and, if sprinkling the chopped or whole walnuts on top, do so now.
- Bake for about 55-60 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. It can take a while to fully bake.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack, and remove from the pan with the help of the paper.
- Keep well wrapped at room temperature for up to 2 days, and then refrigerate.
Notes
Pumpkin: If using homemade fresh pumpkin puree, it needs to be on the dry side and not have excess water. Drain it if that's the case.
Spices: make the pumpkin spice blend from scratch, or find your favorite blend and adjust this recipe. Or use store-bought pumpkin pie spice. You can use just one or two, like cinnamon and ground ginger or nutmeg.
Sugar: I like light brown sugar, but if you have dark brown sugar, you can use half the amount and add the other of white sugar.
Vanilla extract: You can add between ½ and 1 teaspoon to the pumpkin batter for a mellower spice flavor.
Pecans work just as well as walnuts.
Pans: I like to make one large loaf, but you can gift smaller loaf pans or maybe eat one and freeze the others for another time. Use muffin tins to make pumpkin bread muffins.
Storing: keep it covered in plastic wrap or under a cake dome at room temperature for a day or two, and then refrigerate or freeze (first plastic wrap and then aluminum foil or in an airtight container).
Glaze: You can glaze it with a simple powdered sugar glaze. I love to use maple as the binding agent. Mix ¾ cup of powdered sugar until smooth with ½ tablespoon of hot water and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. Pour over the cooled loaf, let it drip down the sides and let it dry before cutting.
