Pumpkin Bread

This Pumpkin Bread recipe is moist and beautifully colored. Baked in a pumpkin-shaped mold, it makes a lovely centerpiece for the Thankgiving table. We used the 10-cup "Great Pumpkin Cake Pan" from William Sonoma for this recipe.

It can also be baked in loaves or as muffins. It makes two loaves using 9" x 5" loaf pans, and three small loaves using 8-1/2" x 4-1/2" loaf pans. As muffins, the recipe makes three dozen.

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can of pure pumpkin
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup salad oil
• 4 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2/3 cup water
• Non-stick cooking spray with flour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (If using light-colored pans, preheat to 350 degrees F)
2. Spray pan (see introduction above for sizes and types of pans) with non-stick cooking spray that contains flour.
3. Brush with pastry brush to make sure that spray has coated all surfaces and has not collected too much in any spot.
4. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and oil.
5. Add the eggs and pumpkin and beat
6. Sift (a strainer works fine for this) flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices together into another bowl.
7. Add one third of the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine.
8. Add 1/2 of the water and stir.
9. Add another third of the flour mixture to the pumkin mixture and stir again
10. Add the rest of the water and stir, then add the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined.
11. Pour into pans. Bake at 325 degrees F (350 for light-colored pans) for the following amount of time:
• For 10-cup pumpkin mold or 9" x 5" loaf pans, bake for about 1 1/2 hours or until done when tested with cake tester.
• For 8-1/2" x 4-1/2" bread pans, bake for about 1 - 1 1/4 hours or until done when tested.
• For muffins, bake for about 30 minutes
12. If you use a pumpkin mold, remove bread from pan, let cool and put back in mold. Cut bread flat (so that it is even with the top of the mold). There is no need to put any filling between the two halves; just place them on top of each other.