I’ve been asked about a pumpkin bread recipe for over a year now, even though I’ve never made it before and didn’t really have a craving for it, or a request for it on the home front. But given that pumpkins are everywhere, I have caved.
It’s the next holiday after all – Pumpkin Day. Just kidding. It’s Halloween. I think I noticed Halloween stuff appearing in stores around the same time as school supplies last month.
And there are so many extra large pumpkins around town. I love seeing all the oversized pumpkins on display. What does one do with a very big pumpkin? It makes a great carving canvas, I imagine.
I have baked this recipe exactly once, and it’s very moist and flavorful. I’m actually surprised at how much I like it. It’s possible that I could have gotten away with one egg, or less pumpkin to reduce the moistness, and it will probably be less moist if you’re using canned pumpkin. My frozen squash defrosted into a bit of an orange puddle.
Update There is now a more bread-like pumpkin bread recipe, and this recipe has become a more cake-like version of pumpkin bread. Consider it a pumpkin pie cake.
I also debated about adding the olive oil, so I’m suggesting that it’s optional, and may reduce the moistness even further. This is the trick to baking with nut flours. They don’t naturally soak up moisture – they rest in it.
So, I’m just saying, this is a 1.0 recipe, which means I’d love to hear about any successes, variations or failures (hopefully there are none of the last kind). I suspect these will make great muffins too.
And, the below image is just one of the reasons I love PCC Natural Food Markets.
Note I do plan on testing this with one more egg (since it is similar to my banana bread recipe, but without the egg-like qualities of banana puree), and raising the temperature in the oven to 350 degrees F as someone suggested. Just thought I’d put that out there if you’re game to test it.
Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup of pumpkin purée (or canned)
- 1 cup of honey (or other sweetener; I like maple syrup but stick with honey if you’re following SCD)
- 2
eggs - 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon of ginger
- 2 cups of almond flour
- 1/2 cup of walnuts & raisins (optional)
* Pumpkin Puree
- Slice the pumpkin (or other squash, butternut squash is the sweetest, in my opinion) in half (from stem to bottom), take out the seeds (and make toasted seeds).
- Roast the pumpkin for about 1 hour (at 350 degrees F), face down, in some water that covers the bottom of the dish. You can also steam the pumpkin. Alternatively, you can dry roast it by wrapping it in foil and placing it in the oven. That would also reduce the moisture in the puree.
- Cool the pumpkin, peel the skin off, and puree it in a blender or food processor.
Method
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, blend well, and then add the wet ingredients and blend well.
- Bake in a bread pan (I used a Pyrex glass dish, 5 inches x 9 inches) for 45 minutes or until the outside is brown. When it’s done, a toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean.
Hi Erica! Yes, steaming works but typically I think of steaming with cut up veggies…. Plus, I’m lazy and throwing it in the oven on a pan and walking away for a while appeals to me for that reason. LOL. Thanks for the great recipes.
Coconut absorbs a LOT and almond flour doesn’t absorb much so I’d drop the coconut flour to 1/2 cup or less.
Making your own pumpkin (or other winter squash) can be easier than the method she shares. I thoroughly wash the squash, stab it a few times, and bake it whole in the oven at the same temp she recommends until the flesh is soft. The exterior skin will resist being ‘forked’ or ‘cut’ (if using a knife) but once past that skin, you’ll know when the flesh is soft. Remove from oven and let cool. When cool, slice, remove seeds, and mash pulp. Far easier. People with muscle weakness, arthritis, and other inflammatory issues can still enjoy winter squash and pumpkins. 🙂 I hope this helps you some. Enjoy!
Hi Karen! Thanks for sharing your method! Fantastic tip for anyone who doesn’t want to risk hurting themselves while cutting up the squash. FYI, the “she” is me, Erica, the creator of this site. To add on to your suggestion, you can steam the squash in an Instant Pot.
I just made this and set oven at 350 for 45mins. I subbed as Mia Mama did and it has turned out beautifully. Hubby loves it. Great recipe!
Great to hear! thanks for confirming that you can use granulated sugar with this recipe!
These just came out of the oven. I made 3 mini loaves. Used 1/2 c honey & 1/2 c applesauce. They are perfect! I also made a streusal topping with a bit of coconut oil, almond flour, pecans, pumpkin seeds & coconut sugar. They are fabulous! Thank You for posting this recipe!
I bet this would be yummy topped with sprouted pumpkin seeds on top!
Nativas (I think that’s the brand) sprouts them with sea salt and that might add a nice counterpoint to the sweet?
Hi, Do you know if I could replace the honey with brown sugar or maybe half maple syrup and half brown sugar?
I STILL make this years later, many times a year, and LOVE IT 🙂 Making it tonight!
Nice! Yes, I love this recipe too!
I just had to let you know. I have your book and tonight I took this pumpkin bread recipe and made it into 12 perfectly delicious muffins/cupcakes. I made it by the book but only had to bake it about 30 minutes. I used cupcake paper liners and it just came out perfectly! I love all of your recipes. You are my favorite SCD recipe guru, thank you so much for taking a difficult expensive diet and making it just a bit easier! (I have UC and SCD helps tremendously.) Thank you again for sharing.
Aw, thanks! It makes it all worth it. Best wishes.
I just made the recipe!!! So good! But it didnt raised….
I have difficulty to rise my cakes when I use almond flour, I know its heavier, but should I use more Baking soda or baking powder?
I used organic sugar instead of honey for this one
Thank you!
it’s a dense bread so I doubt it will rise much more but you could try adding some baking powder. I wouldn’t add any more baking soda.
Hi Erica,
Tonight I made this recipe again but this time into muffins and they turned out perfect. I never had any problem with mushiness or raw inside or burning on the outside. I had to let them cook a bit longer even like you said due to moisture in my puree, but in the end they still were a beautiful colo, and not one bit too dark. I changed the flour, but not the amount. I love my buckwheat, and so I thought what the heck so I used 1 cup of buckwheat, and 1 cup of Honeyville almond flour; 1/2 cup of maple syrup and this time where they were going in as muffins I used 1/2 cup of agave syrup but everything else was as per your recipe. I am going to make the bread again in the next couple of days for our family gatherings this Thanksgiving weekend.
Thanks!
Good to know the changes worked! Buckwheat is a great alternative.
You can also roast squashes w/o cutting them before roasting. If you wash the outside of the squash, place it in a oven-safe dish (I use my square pyrex) and place in the oven at 350 for around an hour to an hour and a half. Sometimes the bigger ones need it at 375, but most of the ones I can get from my grocery store do just fine on 350. It’s done when you can poke a fork easily through to the middle. Take it out, let it cool a little, cut in half, scoop out the seeds, then scoop the meat into a bowl. I like to put butter and salt and pepper in it, or I’ve also taken the juices from my pork roast and put that in too. It’s much easier this way on people that can’t cut through a raw squash.
I made this using your recipe and it was completely raw, mush like inside and burnt on the outside. Here’s what changes I made for those of you that may have the same problem. I use a regular oven at 350 and the changes I made to this recipe were 1/2 cup pumpkin, 1/2 cup raw sugar and 2 1/2 cups almond flour and it turned out perfect! Baked it for 50 min in a parchement paper lined loaf pan. This freezes well also:)
Love this recipe! I make pumpkin muffins, use half the honey called for + 3 drops of stevia liquid. Muffins bake in 30 minutes – perfect yumminess!
With your help I have succeeded in cooking pumpking from scratch. No more cans, yeah!! This recipe was a huge hit, froze some to take out for Thanksgiving…
Yeah! good to hear
This cake recipe was awesome. I made a double batch and I have to control myself :>)
Thanks for a great recipe.
Thanks!
Re: nut allergies–since nuts aren’t allowed in most schools I make much of my son’s baking by grinding pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds. Although I can’t get a very fine grind in my food processor, I find the results are pretty similar to what I’d get with a nut flour–just a bit more texture. Good luck.
great tip! thanks.
I’ll let you know how it works with the stevia!
ok, i have shredded coconut to make coconut milk, and flour, i also have some coconut flour, i have ground some cashews, and almonds (meal), i have chia seeds, not sure what to do with them, i have quoina seeds and flour…i have a whisper mill grain mill for beans and wheat and popcorn, i have a coffee grinder for the other things…
i have the supplies, now i dont know where to start…i have some quesions
do the nut flours taste like the nuts when used in baked goods? same with the coconut flour, will it have a coconut flavor to it?
i had switched everything to whole wheat was making my own bread, so now gonna ventour out to new things…i have lost 100 pounds and want to keep it off.
when baking can i combine some of the flours when i make like pumpkind bread or banana bread ect? or just use one flour at a time? i guess thats it for now…i am sure i will have more questions later on..
thanks for any help, also have you used any of the chia seeds? or the quoina seeds or flour? i am wanting the fiber, and the protein with least amount of carbs is what i am looking for.
thanks again
debby
Debby: some nuts do impart their flavor in baked goods (hazelnuts), but it depends on the recipe. Sometimes you can taste the coconut in baked goods, but in my experience, not in the recipe posts on Comfy Belly. I do sometimes taste the fiber and I don’t like that too much. No to chia seeds, and a very limited yes to Quinoa flour.
Debby,
I have one main muffin recipe that is very basic and uses both almond and coconut flours. Because this is just a plain recipe, I can use different flavors to create different muffins, i.e. blueberry, cinnamon bun, etc. I use lemon juice and chia seeds (for the protein) in the mix and they are similar to lemon poppyseed muffins. I find that using both flours, and this is just my personal opinion, almost negates any overpowering flavor from either one. I have started using oat FIBER in my muffins, as it is really heart healthy and low carb. Another suggestion I have for you is to explore flax seed muffins! BTW, congrats on the weight loss!!
Would you share your basic muffin recipe? I would love to have a base to start with that other ingredients could be added to…
Thanks!!!
Not sure which one you’re referring to. Do you mean using pumpkin in a muffin or a simple almond flour muffin?
Jennifer – would you mind sharing your basic muffin recipe with coconut and almond flour? I don’t care for the coconut flavor, but don’t like to cook with all nut flours. Thanks!
I baked this bread last night, substituting liquid sucralose for honey. While the inside was very moist, the outside was harder and crustier than the one in your picture. I baked for 60 minutes and the inside was done at 50 minutes. I assume the lack of sugar is why mine didn’t brown as nicely, but I’m not sure.
The taste was mild, but very good. I ate several pieces smeared with a little cinnamon butter that I made.
Thanks so much for the recipe!
I found my bread was not done enough. 325 degrees is too low for baking bread. 350 degrees at 60 minutes is perfect.
Thanks Nancy! I often forget that I bake using the convection setting, which has the effect of baking at a higher temperature. Also, almond flour tends to burn, so when in doubt, it’s safer to go at a lower temperature for longer. With this recipe though – the higher temperature seems to work. I think you’re right on for this recipe. The banana bread recipe (which I used as a guide), is baked at 315 degrees F, and many other almond flour items bake better at a lower temperature for a longer amount of time to avoid burning and the middle-sinking syndrome.
Hi Erica,
Thank you for the great recipes. I made your pumpkin bread this morning, and it was totally delish! I used half maple syrup (1/2 cup) and 1/4 cup honey. I did not use any olive oil and so–not fat in this bread. It still turned out to be the most moist bread that I have ever eaten. I took some to a friend and she loved it so much she wants me to make her one so she can keep it in the freezer and take a piece when she feels like having pumpkin.
Oh, that’s great news. Thanks for telling me :). I bet it’s great reheated for a few minutes. My husband does that with the banana bread – reheats it for a few minutes in the toaster oven.
I did some substituting myself… I used a ripe banana instead of the honey. As flour I used coconut flour. The result was interesting, but not superb. I ended up using only one cup of flour because there was less liquid as I didn’t use any honey.
I posted a picture of my version on my blog: http://napapilvi.blogspot.com/
Yum! Thanks for this! I made mine with 1/2 c. of honey, 1/2 c. of applesauce, and I used roasted sunflower seeds in place of the walnuts. It’s delicious!
One more thought on this recipe: remove the olive oil to reduce the moisture content.
Is there a substitute for the almond flour? My son has nut allergies
I haven’t tried it any other way – yet 🙂
what about grinding seeds to flour-consistency?
if you don’t have to be on SCD – there are many gluten-free alternative, otherwise!
@Michelle – the hardest part is cutting the pumpking (in my opinion). In terms of picking out a baking pumpkin, I usually bake with either sugar pie pumpkin, sweet meat (squash), or other sweet squash (they’re the green squash that are round and look like a melon). Ask the produce person too.
@Nuzi – try baking it longer if there’s a next time. Also, I baked with a convection setting which might make a difference. I have a feeling muffins will bake more thoroughly throughout (in the center).
This looks great. Thanks for the detailed recipe on how to make the pumpkin part…I am trying to get away from canned cause of the toxins in the can that leach out, but did NOT know how to make pumpkin from scratch! That sounds so bad..I do have some basic cooking skills, but all my recipes have called for canned pumpkin…You really help our family. Will pass on to my daughter who loves to cook alone and with me and with friends! I have a pumpkin sitting on our porch, waiting to be COOKED now, will carve out and NOT throw away insides..any tips on what to look for in pumpkin for cooking?? Thanks again!
This was REALLY yummy, buy mine was uber moist in the middle and I used canned Pumpkin and even put in more almond flour…
Well how perfect! My hubby and I were looking for this very recipe. I’m hoping to whip some up this weekend.
Great post, as always!
http://mplusbdiaries.blogspot.com/
I love nuts in my breads.
oh, thanks for reminding me. 1/2 cup of walnuts are optional.
Oh yum – looks real good. Thank you for creating this recipe, this would be great for breakfast. I’m so glad you used a regular loaf pan. I would prob add nuts to this. I can’t wait to try it.