I love pumpkin bread, it is probably my favorite of the quick breads. I wanted to do something different with it and have worked on a quick bread recipe that was without nuts and raisins, but not boring. The other day I decided to make it with molasses and not just sugar. I think that made all the difference. I have a very moist quick bread that has some depth to it. Molasses is definitely something fun to experiment with.
Mix together with mixer the following: pumpkin, oil, molasses, and sugar. Add eggs. Mix really well. Add vanilla mix a little more.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix just until all dry ingredients are well incorporated and there are no flour lumps.
- Pour into 2 well greased and floured 8 or 9 inch loaf pans. Use butter or oil or Crisco as the grease, not a baking spray. Baking spray just doesn’t work as well as the traditional grease and flour for baking pans. Dust the batter in the top of the pans with sugar – either turbinado or plain white – it gives you a nice little crust.
- Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean, and depending upon your oven it may take slightly longer than an hour to cook. I found they cooked perfectly in an hour.
When you remove the loves to cool on a rack let them sit in their pans for about 20 minutes to half an hour, then remove them from the pans and allow to cool completely. These loaves freeze nicely.
What type of molasses did you use and/or do you prefer? I find that dark molasses can often impart a burned flavor when used in dark pans or when cooking with temps above 350 (which tend to produce darker crusts regardless). Unsulphured (sp?) also seems to carry a better flavor IMO. e tu?
I used the molasses I always buy from Edwards Freeman in Conshohocken – Golden Barrel Black Strap Unsulphured Molasses. I also don’t use dark hands a lot, in this case I did and it was fine. I also buy Grandma and Brer Rabbit brand molasses if I don’t have time to go to Freeman’s