Amish Pumpkin Bread

Introduction

It is fall, and nature has all the leaves colored beautifully. The sun has ripened and sweetened members of the gourd family.

We have plenty of zucchini, pumpkin, butternuts, and carrots. It is just that beautiful time of the year. I know requests for my delicious pumpkin bread will start coming in.

Also, check out this: Amish Carrot Cake Recipe.

Family Cookbook Project.

Growing up Amish we cherished skills handed down from our fathers and great-grandfathers. The boys would learn farming, carpentry, mechanics, and other outdoor activities while the girls mastered their art of sewing, kitchen gardening, cooking, and baking among others.

I loved spending time in the kitchen with Mum and she would make me copy recipes from books she had borrowed from the Library or Amish bulletins. She valued her books and kept the old versions handed down to her by her grandmother.

We teased her that she could have some recipes in scrolls. I love reading the beautiful cursive handwriting my grandmother wrote.

The passion for archiving recipes as well as experimenting with them made my mama a culinary instructor in the community. We would always have young students determined to learn culinary art from a home chef! I enjoyed submitting a contribution to the family cookbook, that was my assignment.

Though we did not use computers at that time, we neatly recorded them in a beautiful hard-covered journal or book. Things changed and computers secretly made their way into our Amish Order. I began documenting the recipes in a blog and website.

Why Amish Pumpkin Bread

In our culinary homeschool, we specialize in making seasonal recipes. Since it is fall we thought to feature this exquisite pumpkin bread loved by very many people.

It had gotten so many reviews and was a great treasure in our family cookbook project. When kitchen gardens had bountiful harvests, most home cooks loved to convert the produce into delicious dishes.

The Amish are great gardeners too. My big sister had a green thumb and no plants would die under her care. I am such a poor plant parent and lacked the patience to tend a garden. Baking and cooking give me outcomes a little faster than gardening. However, my strict papa made sure we all took turns in the garden.

Our big kitchen garden gave us plenty of vegetables that we need in our kitchen and pumpkins and butternuts gave us the best results for this recipe.

Amish Oatmeal Whoopie Pie Recipe. Click to Read.

Amish recipes have been tried and tested and handed over from one generation to the other. Most Amish are avid cooks and great home bakers. When you prepare specialty meals over and over your culinary skills will get honed with time.

Amish recipes are my favorite because they call for common ingredients. You probably have all we need for this pumpkin recipe in your pantry. It is fall and pumpkins are being ripened by the sun, all the sugars are accumulating, and thus the pumpkin bread will be extremely delicious.

When you see the leaves changing color and you happen to be in a grocery store remember to pick a jar of pumpkin spice. We have always made this Amish pumpkin bread during family reunions. This quick bread makes a good gift for birthday showers or birthdays during fall. 

How about learning more about each ingredient, trust me it helps to know. As a culinary art student, this information will indeed make your Amish Pumpkin bread stand out.  

INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS

Pumpkin puree

Pumpkin puree is the key ingredient in this recipe. We always make our puree from scratch. The flavor of pumpkin puree is intense and rich as compared to canned pumpkin puree. One medium-sized butternut or pumpkin yields two cups of pumpkin puree. You can substitute pumpkin with zucchini to make zucchini  bread or bananas to make banana bread.

Sugar or Brown Sugar

Sugar sweetens the Amish pumpkin bread batter. You can adjust the sugar to the amount that you desire. Brown sugar adds a beautiful golden hue to the batter and a rich molasses flavor too.

All-purpose flour

All-purpose flour provides the gluten that gives the structure to the pumpkin bread. All-purpose flour works perfectly alright in the recipe.

Softened butter

Softened butter is rich in fats adding moisture to the pumpkin bread and giving it a very tender crumb. Butter has an intense milky flavor that elevates the deliciousness of pumpkin bread.

Vegetable oil

Vegetable oil such as canola or coconut oil is great for this recipe. Vegetable oil is light, enhancing the rise of the cake. It reduces the denseness of the quick bread.

Large eggs

Eggs enrich the pumpkin bread with protein and contribute to the rise of the bread. Eggs enhance the moisture level of the pumpkin bread.

Nutmeg

Nutmeg is a spice with a rich intense flavor. It compliments perfectly with cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves making a perfect famous pumpkin spice.

Cardamom

Cardamom is a unique spice with an outstanding aroma. It has woody and fruity undertones enhancing the deliciousness of the pumpkin bread.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon blends perfectly with the rest of the spices, it is the principal spice in our pumpkin spice mixture. Cinnamon introduces a warm, earthy flavor that stands out in any dish.

Cloves

Cloves have a strong distinct aroma that cannot go unnoticed. It is a beautiful addition to the pumpkin spice.

Baking soda

Baking powder is the leavening agent that is responsible for the rise and the increase in the volume of the pumpkin bread. It reacts with other ingredients producing gas that creates the air bubbles in the cake batter giving the bread its structure.

Baking Powder

Baking powder is a leavening agent and reacts as baking soda releases gas into the pumpkin bread batter. This gas gives the Amish pumpkin bread batter the structure it has.

The Amish Pumpkin bread is an easy quick bread! you do not need sour bread starters or yeast as when you are making the Amish friendship bread.

Chocolate chips or chopped pecans

Adding the above ingredients is optional. I had some chocolate chips and added them to the pumpkin bread batter.

The chocolate chips have a rich chocolatey flavor that blends well in the bread batter. Some original recipes call for chopped pecans.

Pecans have a beautiful earthy flavor and a crunchy texture. If you are wondering what to do with some leftover pecans, tossing them in a pumpkin bread batter would be a great idea.

Also, Check Out: Amish Vanilla Pie Recipe.

EQUIPMENT

Handheld electric mixer or stand mixer

These appliances make the mixing of ingredients easier and faster.

Mixing bowls

Mixing bowls are great for mixing dry ingredients before pouring them into the wet ingredients.

Rubber spatula

A rubber spatula is used for scraping the ingredients down into the mixing bowl while mixing. A  Rubber spatula is effective in pouring all the Amish Bread butter into the baking pans.

Loaf pans

In this recipe, we used loaf pans to bake the bread. However, you can use any type of tin that you have available.

Parchment paper

Parchment paper is used to line the bottom of the loaf pan. It keeps the Amish Pumpkin bread from sticking to the pan after baking.

Measuring cups and spoons

Measuring cups and spoons ensures precision when measuring the ingredients. Read the pro tips to see the importance of measuring ingredients precisely in Amish Pumpkin bread.

Yes, this Pumpkin delight freezes wonderfully. Wrap each loaf with plastic wrap and place it in a freezer-friendly zip lock bag.

Why should I make an Amish recipe?

Amish recipes are very easy to follow and call for ingredients that are easy to find.  The Amish eat most of what they grow. Most  Amish recipes use garden produce such as carrots, zucchini, butternuts, and pumpkins.

Pro Tip

Measure your ingredients precisely, both wet and dry. Always use the ‘Scoop and level method’ Once you scoop the flour from your container, remove excess flour by leveling with a bread knife. Excess flour will alter the moisture level in the pumpkin batter.

Do not over-mix your pumpkin bread batter. As soon as the wet and dry ingredients are mixed, resist the urge of over mixing. Over-mixing activates gluten strands in the flour. The gluten strands form when you overmix the batter, your cake will turn tough and rubbery.

Bake the bread at the recommended temperature and time. Invest in an oven thermometer to get the optimal baking temperature.