Brown Butter Pumpkin Bread

Author & Photographer: Claire Schultz

On September 1st this year, I decided to throw myself wholeheartedly into fall. It was time for scarves and sweaters and hot cider and colored leaves and apple pie and, of course, pumpkin spice. I think our pumpkin spice obsession is hilarious, but I also fundamentally think cinnamon sugar and ginger and nutmeg are warm and wonderful flavors to cope with the increasingly freezing Chicago fall-turned-winter. 

Enter pumpkin bread.

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I love all quick breads--banana, zucchini, ginger, pumpkin. The process is rarely more complicated than mixing ingredients, pouring into a loaf pan, and baking for about an hour. They’re virtually impossible to mess up, and taste like love.  Easier than pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread is a warm hug, a quick and easy way to fuel the pumpkin spice obsession without shame. Bake some for your friends, for Thanksgiving, for dessert, for a snack, for yourself and yourself alone; there’s no wrong answer. Since it’s technically a vegetable bread, it absolutely counts as breakfast. I don’t judge. 

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Determined to master autumnal baking, I spent the quarter baking loaf after loaf, tweaking and testing recipes on unwitting, increasingly exasperated friends until coming up with what I can confidently call the Queen of Quick Breads, the Perfect Pumpkin Loaf, the Ultimate Pumpkin Bread Recipe. It’s easy and fluffy, heavily spiced and customizable: add nuts or chocolate chips, if you’d like, or swap out some or all of the white sugar with brown for a denser, more molasses-y loaf. (I prefer white sugar, because it makes the bread lighter and gives room for the spices to shine through, but I ran out too late into this round of baking to get more, and was pleasantly surprised by the brown).

The best part, though, is the warm, nutty depth from the browned butter--if you’ve never browned butter before, welcome to your new favorite cooking technique. Don’t be intimidated; it’s far simpler than it seems, and can transform any baked good into something magical. All you do is melt butter in a pan, and then let it keep bubbling until the solids turn toasty brown and the pan smells like caramel and popcorn. I’ve learned that the best way to tell if the butter is browned is by sound: once the bubbling and popping dies down, you’re good to go. If you’re really afraid of it, you could just melt the butter instead of browning, but I strongly advise against opting out. It’s worth it, I promise.

Makes 1 (9-inch) loaf

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Baking Time: 60-75 minutes

Total time: ~1 ½ hours



Ingredients:

  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, chopped

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 tsp fine salt

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1/2 tsp baking powder

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

  • 1/4 tsp ground allspice

  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger

  • ¼ tsp ground cardamom

  • 1 - 1 1/4 cups sugar (white, brown, or a combination)

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

  • 1 cup pumpkin puree (roughly ½ 15 ounce can) 

  • ½ tsp vanilla extract

  • 2 large eggs

  • ⅔ cup water

  • ½ cup walnuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan.

2. Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Once it has melted, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the froth has sunk to the bottom, the butter has turned a rich, aromatic nutty brown, and enthusiastic bubbling has stopped. Quickly take the pan off the heat, as butter can burn quickly.

2. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices in a medium bowl.

3. Whisk together the browned butter, oil, and sugar in a large bowl until well combined and fluffy, about 1 minute.

4. Stir in the pumpkin puree and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until just incorporated. 

5. Add the flour mixture, water, and nuts or chocolate chips (if using), and stir to combine. 

6. Pour the batter into the pan; bake for 60-75 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and enjoy!



Adapted from: 

https://epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pumpkin-bread-367512

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017797-pumpkin-bread-with-brown-butter-and-bourbon


Melanie WangComment