Moist and Yummy Pumpkin Bread

I should probably be posting this in the fall. That is when most people think about and make things with pumpkins. It makes sense because they are most available then. However I am not constrained to make pumpkin dishes only in the fall because I freeze my own pumpkin mush! (If you don't freeze your own mush, it is also still available in stores year round I believe :). I will plan to blog about making and freezing pumpkin mush this fall (because I have no pictures so I can't post about it now :) so all of you can join me in gloriously bucking seasonal constraints and make pumpkin bread all year round! The funny thing is, the reason that I freeze pumpkin mush is because I don't really care for pumpkin. (I know, doesn't make sense right?) I Love roasted pumpkin seeds, and the cost to buy plain raw pumpkin seeds (roasted pumpkin seeds from the store are not nearly as good as homemade) is about the same or more than buying an actual pumpkin so I buy the pumpkins instead (What I really need to do is find a jack-o-lantern carving party and steal all their pumpkin seeds). And I can't let all of that pumpkin go to waste (because my husband does actually love pumpkin) so I end up pureeing tons of pumpkin. Last year I think I only did 2 mini (pie) pumpkins because I was large and pregnant and supposed to be on couch rest (I didn't know, oops) so I didn't do a lot but I did manage to put about 10 cups (individually packaged into ziplock bags, 1 cup per bag for easy measuring and use later) of pumpkin mush in the freezer. The year before that I think I ended up pureeing somewhere between 6 and 10 pumpkins (and not all of them mini) so I had way way too much pumpkin. Unfortunately at that time we were still at the apartment and I only had the freezer above the fridge so I had to store it in the fridge and most of it went bad, but not before I pureed it and turned half of it into pumpkin butter. (In case you were wondering, no you can't can pumpkin mush, so it must be stored in a freezer). Thankfully I have a chest freezer now so that won't happen this year.
Anyways back to the recipe, I have no idea where this recipe came from, I found it a couple of years ago and picked it because it calls for a decent amount of pumpkin mush and like I said I had an overabundance of pumpkin mush so I needed to use it up somehow. And amazingly enough I do actually like this pumpkin bread, I don't eat a lot of it (which is ok because my husband does) but it is definitely not a bad recipe. I am pretty sure that I adapted it from it original recipe (I adapt almost every recipe so that is a pretty safe bet), but since I can't find the original recipe I am not positive. Oh and I doubled the recipe when I made it so the pictures show a bigger amount than the recipe calls for.  Anyways, here is the recipe.

Moist and Yummy Pumpkin Bread
makes 2 large loaves

2-4 cups pumpkin mush (I used 5 cups for the doubled recipe)
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups sugar
4 eggs (my recipe says beaten, but I didn't beat them and it was fine)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2-4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup water (if you are using store bought pumpkin mush you may want to up the water, frozen homemade pumpkin mush tends to be more watery than store bought)

You can also add in 1/2 t allspice, 2 t nutmeg, 1 c pecans, 1/2 c raisins, or 1 c chocolate chips but I find that too much spice tends to cover up the pumpkin flavor. I might try chocolate chips sometime though.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Stir together flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and sugar (and allspice and nutmeg if you are using them)
Add eggs, water, oil, and pumpkin
Stir until well blended
If desired add pecans, raisins, and/or chocolate chips and mix well
Grease loaf pans and pour batter into them.
Bake approximately 1 hr
Doneness - knife test - if knife comes out slightly sticky, not wet, it is done
Remove from oven, cool slightly (10 min)
Take out of pans to let cool on rack.
Slice and Enjoy!

Verdict:
According to my husband "delicious". A couple months ago he took some to a carry in at work and he said people were raving about it and it disappeared really fast. One of his coworkers said it was the best pumpkin bread he had ever had and begged me to send more. I definitely recommend making this recipe! This bread also freezes well. Since I made so much I am planning to freeze some (if I get around to it before Mr. Random eats it all) to be enjoyed at a later date.

Here are pictures from this recipe:

The batter. If you are going to double the recipe like I did then you will need a very big bowl.

Like I said in the Low Country boil post, Monday was my baking day, my oven was full!

This recipe doubled made 3 large loaves, 3 smaller loaves, and 12 small muffins

Linked up to:
Uncommon, Naptime Crafters, Frugal Girls, Tater Tots and Jello, A Pinch of Joy, Addicted to Recipes, Cornerstone Confessions,