With fall comes the crunching of the leaves, the zipping of outerwear, and the inevitable preheating of a convection oven for the timeless autumnal treat: the baking of pumpkin-based dishes, and nothing is more celebrated by the whole family than this recipe for a loaf of pumpkin bread with a glaze of salted brown butter, as provided by the talents at Serious Eats.
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Bread:
- 8 ounces (1 ⅔ cups, 225g) of all-purpose flour
- a half ounce (2 tablespoons, 15g) of malted milk powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (4g) kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 large eggs
- 8 ounces (1 cup, 225g) pumpkin or butternut squash purée
- 5 ounces (⅔ cup) neutral oil
- 4 ounces (½ cup; 115g) granulated sugar
- 4 ounces (½ cup; 115g) light brown sugar
- 2 ounces (¼ cup; 55g) milk, any fat percentage
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Recipe:
For the Pumpkin Bread Glaze:
- 2 ounces (½ cup, 60g) powdered sugar, sifted
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons, 30g) unsalted butter
- ½ ounce (1 tablespoon, 15g) milk, any fat percentage
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
This pumpkin bread recipe uses:
- 8 ½ by 4 ½- inch loaf pan
- Wire rack
- Rimmed baking sheet,
- 1-quart stainless steel saucier
Note: If using table salt in lieu of kosher salt, simply use half as much by volume as the above indicates.
- Begin prepping for the pumpkin bread by greasing an 8 ½ by 4 ½- inch loaf pan and line it with a 7- by 13-inch sheet of parchment paper so that it hangs over the sides of the pan, forming a sling. Adjust your oven rack to a lower-middle position and preheat it to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the following together: all-purpose flour, malted milk powder, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger until it’s well-combined, typically after 1 minute.
- In a large bowl, whisk together your eggs, pumpkin/squash purée, oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla until thoroughly combined and all sugars are dissolved.
- Combine your flour and egg mixtures, and whisk just until it’s incorporated and no dry flour remains.
- Use a flexible spatula, and scrape your batter into the loaf pan. Then, bake until the loaf is domed and golden brown, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with few moist crumbs attached (or an internal temperature of around 200°F), about 1 hour.
- Transfer pan to a wire rack that’s set in a baking sheet, letting it cool for 30 minutes. Run a butter knife along the edges to loosen it from the pan, then lift the loaf using overhanging parchment (remember?), and return it to the wire rack after removing the parchment paper.
- Begin your glaze by combining your set aside sugar, salt and cinnamon in a small heatproof bowl.
- Melt the butter in a 1-quart stainless steel saucier over medium-low heat, increasing to medium and simmering. Stir with a heat-resistant spatula while the butter hisses and pops. Continue cooking this until framing subsides and you’re scraping up brown bits from the bottom. When the butter is golden yellow and the milk solids are chestnut brown (about 5 minutes), remove from the heat.
- Add milk, vanilla, and butter, along with your scraped brown bits to the powdered sugar mixture, and whisk until it’s smooth. You should then have 3 ounces of glaze that you will slowly drizzle evenly over your bread.
- Allow the glaze for the pumpkin bread to set for 10 minutes, slice with a serrated knife, and serve.
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