I don't know about you, but there is nothing that quite says fall like a good loaf of pumpkin bread. I have been making a lot of recipes with pumpkin lately, but I think this one is ... the best of them all. This bread is super soft, super spiced, and super tasty. It has to just have one slice!
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 15-oz can 100% pure pumpkin - do not use premade pumpkin pie filling!
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour two loaf pans and set aside. (I made these to hand out for treats and used small aluminum pans which worked well)
In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients. This is the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk until well combined; set aside.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until just blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until very light and fluffy, a few minutes. Beat in the pumpkin. The mixture might look grainy and curdled at this point -- that's okay. (If you don't have a standing electric mixer, it is ok to use a hand mixer of combine with a spoon).
Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
Turn the batter into the prepared pans, dividing evenly, and bake for 65 – 75 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the loaves cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.