Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread is my favorite fall baked treat. It’s perfectly spiced, stays moist for days, and is so easy to make. If you’ve been looking for the best pumpkin bread recipe you have to give this one a try.

Growing up, no one in my household was much of a fan of foods made with autumn spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.  It wasn’t until a few years ago that I began liking desserts and other foods made with these spices. I’m not sure what changed, but now I love making pumpkin baked goods and my favorite is pumpkin bread.

I’ve tried several recipes but my favorite is this one that I found on All Recipes and apparently, it’s an old recipe from Maine, hence the name. I don’t know if Maine pumpkin bread is different from other kinds of pumpkin bread, but I tried out this recipe and absolutely loved it.  It’s my favorite pumpkin bread ever.

I brought it home to my family for Thanksgiving, and my parents and my brother loved it too.  Three loaves were gone before Thanksgiving dinner.

What I Love about this Recipe

• It’s very easy to make.  You just mix everything into a bowl, pour it into your bread loaf pans, pop them into the oven, and out comes some beautiful loaves of pumpkin bread.
• It’s very moist and stays that way for days.
• The recipe makes three 7×3” loaves and they freeze really well.
• The bread is perfectly spiced. Other recipes have either too much fall spice flavor or not enough. Downeast Maine pumpkin bread is perfect.

Make the Bread Ahead

Usually, I like to eat my baked goods right out of the oven, while they are still warm and steaming and the crust is nice and crispy.

However, I’ve found that with pumpkin bread that it tastes better the next day.  While there is no longer the crispy crust I love, the flavors of the bread are much more intense after letting the bread settle for a day.

So, if you’re making this for a holiday or event plan to make and bake the loaves at least a day in advance. Cool them completely and wrap them in plastic. The next day just slice and serve.

Tips for Storing the Pumpkin Bread

• Room temperature: The bread keeps well at room temperature for several days. Just keep it tightly wrapped.
• Freezer: The loaves freeze well for up to three months. To thaw, just leave them out at room temperature and then slice and serve.

More Favorite Fall Recipes

I love to bake – especially during the fall season. Pumpkin bread is just one of my favorite treats to make. Here are a few more you might like to try, too.

• Apple Cider Bread
• Cinnamon Pumpkin Soft Pretzels
• Ginger Spice Cookies
• Apple Pies in Apples

Pumpkin Bread

Servings: 3 (7x3) loaves

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

This is my favorite pumpkin bread recipe. It’s so easy to make, stays soft and moist for several days and freezes well.

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Ingredients

• 1 (15-oz) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
• In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
• Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. (I usually use the hand mixer here for a little bit because my flour mixture always clumps. I only mix it until most of the clumps are out.) Pour into the prepared pans.
• Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Notes

Recipe source: All Recipes

The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.

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